MY Wild Thing

"Mom! Taste this, tell me if it tastes OK!" Jalyn proclaims as he shoves his chocolate milk, no ice extra whip Starbucks treat in my face. So, I taste.

"HA HA!!! You just tasted my burp!" he yells loud and proud as he swiftly runs away.

For our Friday Family Movie Night we watched Where the Wild Things Are....I live with two wild things of the human race and three of the canine. My house can feel like one gigantic hut where things are naturally destroyed and chaos is a way of life.

Boys are an interesting species. They are batty and berserk; inquisitive and intrusive; independent and informal. Requiring little more than an open range to explore and mark their territory, seriously. Did you know that boys pee on anything, anywhere and actually prefer the yard to a toilet?

With all the lunacy a boy brings you would think we, moms of boys, would be admitted to the nut house ***Visiting hours closed between 7pm and 8am*** But the love of a boy is exclusive and rare and a mother's true privilege. They fiercely adore and defend our honor, enjoy our embraces for much longer than girls and would readily give their last Lego if our life depended on it.

Yes my boy is a wild creature whom at times can be difficult to tame---but do I really want him to evolve into a more docile form of species? That would in fact, deny his true authentic self, his genuine boyhood.

Goo-Goo eyes from my son sends flutters to the depth of my very soul. I love the boy, completely and true. Caveman-like qualities and all. My Wild Thing has me--hook line and sinker, right where I'm meant to be.

De-li-cious

Jalyn peeps out the window of my van on the way to school. Hoping to not be seen yet hoping to be seen. There she is, holding the STOP sign for all the children to pass. "Hel-llll-oooo De-li-cious" he says. "Jalyn!" I say, "you are too young to be caught up in a girl." (Especially a girl thirty-times your age). She is his delicious. Long blond hair, long legs, and high heels. But most importantly, he loves her knowledge of books, she is after all the librarian. On Valentine's Day, he swept her off her feet with a box of chocolates and a hug and she swept him off his by letting him pick out a spooky-mystery book. "I can handle it", he tells her, "I'm very brave ya know".

My Valentine's Day was spent with family as we celebrated two birthdays. Why not make a family dinner romantic? Candles were lit, rose petals were scattered and kids were screaming. I wouldn't have it any other way as I was with after all, my delicious.

Yell or Grab the Camera???

This time of year daddy brings home lots of great stuff! Chocolates from co-workers and cookies from patients fill our home every Christmas. I turned for one second and found Leila sitting on top of the table going nuts with a chocolate bar! She had chocolate all over. I paused......yell and explain how dangerous being on top of a table is or grab my camera as soon as possible. I guess you can see what I chose.........

No Need To Ask Why.......

I vowed to exude positivity this year. The gods above continue to send challenges my way (at least this is how I view it) yet I remain determined to prove to them that in every situation I can and will find the good.

Jalyn's party was a success. The cake turned out well, well for a gal that has no idea what she's doing. The mess I made during the process was incredible! The kids went crazy when they saw the cake and even crazier when they heard I made it. Making your child's birthday cake is so worth the extra chaos. Jalyn was so excited watching the whole process from beginning to end. He chose yellow and strawberry cake layered with fresh strawberries in between. It was absolutely scrumptious.

As you can see, the party was Mario Brothers themed. Even though it was a simple party with only three boys, it is still important to me to bring all of the birthday elements together for a special day. He received amazing gifts! Lego's, Lego's....more Lego's, a marshmallow shooter, dinosaur puzzle and some new items for first grade. J is a very lucky boy.

The women of the party.

What are those silly boys doing out there?

My friend Laura came and brought her daughter Brooklynn. Tariq was on call so she came to help me out with the dinner etc.......Thanks Laura!!!

Here comes the rain I referred to early on in this post.

I received a call from the cardiologist yesterday regarding the stress test I had a week ago. The results showed that I was back into heart failure with an ejection fraction (shows how well your heart is pumping with normal being anywhere from 50-65% or even higher in some people) of 40%. My EF prior was 55-58%. To be completely honest, I shut myself in my closet (trying to shield the children from my emotion)screamed and cried and allowed myself this reaction for a few minutes...then time to suck it up, deal with it and move on with whatever needed to be done. I've beat it before and if needed, I'll beat it again. They requested that I come in today for an echo cardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) for a more specific reading. My Mr came home immediately from work cancelling all appointments for the day and my dear mother and father-n-law came and took the children for lunch and play at their house. Tariq calmed me down, took me to lunch and then tucked me into bed. I slept from 1-6pm.

Jalyn follows me everywhere I go and I mean everywhere. Some new phase I assume. He heard my cries and wondered why. After I calmed down I explained it to him like this:

"When you were born you know that mommy's heart became very sick but with time I got better. Well, mommy's heart might be sick again, but with time it will get better again. But mommy is sad because it's not fun to be sick...right? Tomorrow mommy will go for a test to see just how sick my heart is. But everything will be OK just like it was the first time. I love you and this is in no way your fault or anyone else for that matter. We will continue to love each other and live our lives just the same, nothing will change."

His response went like this:

J: "I want to go with you to your test."

M: "Baby you cannot go, they do not allow anyone to come in the room."

J: "Well there's a waiting room isn't there?"

M: "Yes but it will be very early. Miss Laura will be here when you wake up and I might even be home before you wake".

Then he gave me the biggest hug ever and asked what was for dinner.

Things always happen for a reason and I'm a true believer in that statement. In everything, there is something be learned.

It is almost a guarantee that I will be placed on the cocktail of heart medications all over again which (pardon my french) totally sucks as they drain every ounce of energy you might have left after raising two children. However, if it means no energy verses a decreasing heart function....well then the choice is obvious.

My mother-n-law gave me a jewelry box with this scripture on the front during my bout with heart failure the first time around and since then I have read it daily.

For I know the plans I have made for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

I believe I am not in harms way, but in God's hands.

And just to lighten things up a bit, here are a few pictures of the things that make me smile and bring the most comfort.

My boy Amir. He has lost so much weight since being on thyroid medication. I'm so darn proud of the boy...and to think we made fun of his plumpness (we lovingly call him sausage on sticks because he looks like a sausage and his legs look like sticks, don't know how they hold him up:) and deprived him of his favorite snack when it really wasn't his fault at all....Bad mommy moment! Oh to have the life of a dog!

Tariq and I were cleaning out my bathroom and Leila took a liking to my velcro rollers. She kept them in her hair the entire evening! What a beauty eh?

See??? All is good in the world after all, no matter what.

Extractions, Toothfairy, Bunk bed and PTSD...What a Week!

Jalyn's adult teeth were trying to come in, yet his baby teeth are not budging. His big man teeth are coming in crooked due to the overcrowded issue going on in his mouth. The dentist gave Jalyn the option of doing the extraction right then or another day. To my surprise, he requested it to be done now and without me in the room! This was the first time he went back alone even for a cleaning! He took it like a champ. The dentist, who lives in our neighborhood and has seen Jalyn since one year of age, came out and said to me "your little man's growing up!" I cried.

We found a retired master carpenter on Craig's List that makes bunk beds to order. He had one already on hand and gave us a great deal. It was made out of fresh wood so I've been painting it the past few days in 115 degree heat.....not fun. The J man is so excited to have a whole new room. I will post pictures of the make over when it's complete.

Jalyn will have his sixth birthday party this weekend! He choose to have his closest friends over for pizza, popcorn, movie and slumber party! I'm trying my hand at a Mario cake......wish me luck!

I signed up for cake decorating classes today that start in August. I will be doing them with my dear friend Laura. We are both so excited to learn something new! Having some girl time is going to be so much fun and very much needed. Thank you to my awesome hubby who offered to watch our kids and Laura's daughter so we can do this together (her hubby works nights).

And Leila. It's been rough. Today I was told that she is struggling with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Without going into detail, she has been exhibiting concerning behaviors that we have noticed. I met with her pediatrician today. He has extensive experience treating children who have been burned and have PTSD. We will continue to provide a loving and supportive environment. At some point we will start counseling with her. It has been and will be a long road, but if being loved unconditionally has any impact, we are certainly off to a good start. Her pediatrician was amazingly supportive today. He said "since the first time you showed me her picture I've loved her. Then you brought her in to meet me and I loved her even more. She is loved by a lot of people and that has the most impact on recovery." He reassured me that he will be there for us every step of the way and that his heart is truly with us on this journey. He said that what we have done and are doing is very admirable. That meant so much to me. Just knowing that your supported by family, friends and even your doctor makes the road ahead look a little less bumpy.

Movin On Up

Yesterday my Bubby graduated from Kindergarten.

It was a beautiful ceremony.

They wore caps that had a K attached.

They walked in to music, sang songs and we watched a slide show of pictures of their year together.

They were called up one by one, gave their teacher a handshake, received their diploma's and had their K's cut into a 1 (for first grade).

University of Michigan? Sure! If mommy has anything to say about it!

Daddy went to University of Arizona so he may have something to say about it. That and Jalyn will receive 75% off tuition at either UofA or ASU if we are still here.......

Whoever gets this boy will be lucky as far as I'm concerned. A proud mommy talking.

Dedicated To My Children and My Mother

"What a great mom you are"

replied Laura, our friend and nanny as I prepared a fun afternoon snack for my children. Tears filled my eyes as those simple words filled my heart with such joy and appreciation. You see, I can count on one hand the number of times that someone has said these words to me since I became a mom six years ago.

So the question becomes what constitutes the making a "good mom"?
All moms have different belief systems, different rules, different goals and ideals for their children. Some moms even raise one child and realize certain things they need to do differently the next time around and so on. We (moms) are always evolving, re-adjusting our goals over time. Over the years, my choices as a parent have been questioned, analyzed and quite frankly judged. However, I stand strong as I have faith in the choices Tariq and I have made regarding our children. When a decision in our house needs to be made, we always start the conversation with one question: What is best for our children? We always have our two children in the front of our minds, always.

I don't feel the need to explain our reasoning to others but have found myself doing so from time to time.

I had stated earlier on that I am partly keeping a blog for my children. If something happened to me and I could no longer express my thoughts and feelings, they would have my thoughts on paper to look back on. They could see what was important to their mom over the years. Sometimes I write silly stuff that quite frankly I'm shocked anyone would read and other times I write about something serious and close to my heart. Today is one of those "serious" days. The following message is dedicated to my children. This is what is important to your mom:

A happy marriage equals happy children.

Our marriage is our priority. Kids pick up on how mom and dad feel about each other. If they see two parents that love each other they will feel secure. This is why your mom and dad have date nights. It is important for us to have time alone together and reconnect, it is vital to our marriage in this busy time in our lives. We hire a babysitter or family watches you for our nights together. We are nothing to our kids if we are not content in our marriage. Take this time when you are grown and married with children. Nurture your marriage, a happy mom and dad is the best gift you will ever give to your children. When the children grow up and move away, you don't want to look at your spouse and think who are you or where have you been all these years? You will want to be in love with the person you are with as you now have all the time in the world together! Unfortunately others may look at you and say you are being selfish, why don't you want to be home with your children. You look at them and tell them, I'm giving my children the best gift ever; a happy glowing mommy or a rested daddy.

Friday nights are sacred and not to be spent doing anything but Family Movie Night. We watch a movie that the kids pick and make popcorn in Jalyns machine that Santa brought. Your dad and I chose to have one night a week that is not open for time with friends or going out anywhere. This is our night to re-connect as a family after a long week of being busy and apart from each other. I hope you choose to bring this concept (or something similar) into your families one day. It has brought such closeness to our family, not to mention something for the kids to look forward to all week.

I love you unconditionally. I may not always agree with the choices you make in life but I will never judge you. There is nothing you could ever do that you can't talk to your dad or I about. We may not like the choices you make, but we will always love you. I will never give you advice unless you ask for it. You will make mistakes throughout life, when you are young and when you are old, but from every mistake that you make you will grow from it. Make your mistakes, learn from your mistakes, and always know you can come to us for advice.

This message is to Leila. Your life story is unique and incredibly amazing. We have God to thank for bringing our family together against all odds. When you came into our family, we became complete. Share your story with whom you trust and love. This is your choice, not mine or anyone else for that matter. Keep your story and your birth country close to your heart, you were born in an amazing place.

Jalyn and Leila, you are all each other has (now I'm sounding like MY mom:) Don't let any disagreement rob you from a life full of memories. You will say things you regret, you will make decisions that will hurt the other and you have the right to feel hurt and upset. Talk to each other about it, share your thoughts and feelings as to why you were hurt, apologize and move on. Life is too short to hold a grudge. I am not asking the impossible here, my brother and I have had our moments and that's all they were...moments. Nothing compared to a lifetime of good times.

To my mom:

Now that I'm a mom I realize what you went through, the times I made you crazy. I do so apologize. I have such great memories that you and dad gave to me that I hold dear, and now I'm sharing some of those very same memories with my own children. You were and still are the most amazing mom and my best friend. Thank you for talking to me each and every day, for listening to me when I'm upset, and for giving advice when I need it/ask for it and for holding back when you know I don't want to hear it:) You are a constant in my life and I'm partly who I am today because of you. I love you.

You guys are my world and I'm so thankful to God for all the blessings He has brought to my life. No matter what happens in life, always have faith in God. He has a plan for you and you may not always agree or understand His plan, but trust me, there is a reason for everything that happens to you in life. You may realize His reason later or you may never know, but always trust Him. God will never abandon you or leave you, talk to Him about anything.

I love you my two beautiful children, I love you to the moon and back.

To all you mama's out there reading this, YOU ARE GREAT MOMS! Trust in your reasoning in raising your children and don't let anyone doubt or judge you. It's a waste of time and letting it hurt you or eat you up inside does nothing but take a piece of you away from your husband and kids. Thank you to all the Mom's throughout my life that helped mold me into the mother that I am today. You taught me many things, and I'm so blessed to have these women in my life.

There is no better feeling in the world than being pregnant.

This was my belly around four months pregnant. Sadly, this is one of only a few pictures that were taken of my growing belly. I don't know why exactly. I remember wanting to document my pregnancy well and time just flew by it seemed. I remember feeling the "flutter" for the first time while I was driving in the car. At first I thought, that felt weird! What was that?! Then it hit me, everyone says the first feeling of the baby feels like a little butterfly is in you, and that is exactly what I felt. I called my hubby I was so excited! Then the "fun" flutters turned to discomfort soon enough. I was due August, the absolute worst time of year to be pregnant in Arizona. I was miserable and just wanted to be done with being pregnant.

After I had Jalyn via c-section as he was breech, they determined that I was in heart failure (as most of you know). Almost immediately a high risk OB entered the room and told us that we would never be able to have children naturally again. To do so would place my life in extreme jeopardy.

If I had only known this would be my one and only time to feel those flutters, embrace the ugly maternity clothes, document my growing belly, enjoy the sometimes painful kicks, well, I would've savored this moment in time just a bit more.

You never know what life has in store for you. Will this pregnancy be your first, last and only? Or will you be incredibly blessed to have children naturally and easy as many times and you choose to do so?

Each and every one of us has our own path in life and I've made peace with the road God has chosen for us. If the tragedies in our life hadn't happened, then I wouldn't have the most adorable little Kyrgyz baby sleeping in the room down the hall. So are tragedies really tragedies or are they something to rejoice upon?

Either way, if you are blessed enough to have the chance to experience pregnancy, enjoy it. Embrace it. Document it.

LOVE IT.

***Dedicated to my sissy, Jese. I love you and I'm over the moon thrilled for you and Jay. May God bless you and keep mom and baby safe***

A Little Sing-Along

A-B-C-D-E-F-G.....BARBIE IS MY ENEMY!

Jalyn has been singing this song ALL DAY LONG! The first time I heard this tune of his, my mommy-knee-jerk reaction was to say something along the lines of......"Now is that a nice song we should sing?" Or "Do you think that's a good choice of words to use?"

Although when I think about it, what is really bad about that song? The word enemy? I'm so use to correcting his choice of words these days that pretty much every time he speaks I follow up with a "mommy" correction. Hmmmmmm, just found something I should work on correcting myself.

Anyway, when I was taking a shower just now (too much info?...sorry:) I got to thinking about this song, and you know what, I would say I have to agree!

All girls, young and old are supposed to look just like Barbie. The skinny yet slightly curvaceous in just the right areas, long flowing perfect hair, make-up 24/7, fits in all the cute clothes kind of girl. The one we are all not. Why don't they make a Barbie that just had a baby and has a little extra curves in sometimes the not-so-right places? (As this would be reality...right?) Or perhaps a Barbie that is a mommy and spends her whole day cleaning, doing laundry, wiping up spills, changing diapers, grocery shopping, dropping off/picking up dry cleaning, picking up dog poop and then makes dinner? (OK maybe not in that exact order.) I mean this is reality......right?!?! It may not be glamorous and all but it's what most of us women do when we marry and have families. Our daughters grow up thinking Barbie is the "thing to be" but I refuse to let Leila buy into this rubbish.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon..........

A-B-C-D-E-F-G...Barbie is MY enemy!!!

Care to join???

P.S.....I have some exciting news to share with you all but this tired girl is hittin the hay. Tomorrow I will spill the beans!

Our Dear Son

Jalyn is always one for a good laugh.
I went to pick him up from school yesterday and noticed a big net with things in it. I took a step closer and realized they were learning about the life cycle of a butterfly.

This is when Jalyn's teacher approached me with a grin on her face.......I know this grin and I know it well. She is about to tell me something Jalyn has said or done in class that gave her a great laugh. They all fully expect to see Jalyn on Saturday Night Live one day, seriously.


She says to me: "Each child was allowed to pick an egg and name it, they then follow their egg throughout the life cycle. One at a time the children were called up to name their chosen egg.. It was Jalyn's turn. He proudly walked up, pointed to the one he choose and proclaimed his egg's name."

Jalyn says "My egg's name is Barack Obama".

His teacher said that she and the aid were rolling on the ground they were laughing so hard!

But the real kicker here is: Tariq and I are proudly Republican!!!

Mr. President, you spread those wings and fix our country! Our five-year-old believes in you, please don't let him down:)

On Parenting and Surprise Revealed

No one is ever prepared for parenting.


Last night Jalyn woke with a 103 degree fever. This morning he was screaming when he moved his head. We played a little game with him and asked to see if he could touch his nose to his chest and he yelled OUCH!!! When I asked where it hurt he pointed to the back of his neck. Having gone through this myself before, and the fact that I'm a nurse, I feared the worst. These were classic signs of meningitis. Even though I had the FEELING to take him in, I called his doctor anyway and he said what I was expecting......take him in now.

They took him back immediately. They gave him an IV and I watched my little guy watch everything they were doing to him. He listened to their instructions very carefully and was such a rock star. He never cried, not once. The staff was so impressed with him. Thank the Lord above, it is a virus. We are to watch him closely tonight just to be sure, but his doctors were amazing and I have faith that they would not have sent us home if there were any doubt.

Anyway, the point of this post is that while I was laying with him on the hospital bed I was thinking about being a mom. I'm 28 and I still cannot believe God has entrusted me with two of his children. All of the decisions you have to make on their behalf, the sleepless nights, the times where you feel so helpless when you just don't know what to do, this is what parenting is all about.

There are no instructions, you just do the best you can.

It is the most difficult job in the world.

However, you will never have another job in your whole life as rewarding as parenting.

We (Tariq and I) have so much to learn about parenting and I'm sure that no matter how many times you parent a child, there is always something you would go back and do differently.



NOW FOR THE SURPRISE!!!

I believe I promised you folks a grand surprise. I'm sorry you've had to wait, but my fingers were forbidden from typing until I was given the green light.
My brother and sister-n-law have been trying for a baby for some time. Finally the news came that she is expecting!!!!
They will be going for an ultrasound soon and hopefully I can provide more information soon. As hard as I've tried to sway them, I believe they are not going to find out the sex.......darn them! How is an Aunt to shop???
I am beyond the moon excited to become another Aunt, and I cannot wait to watch my bro father a child.........whoa baby!
There have been a few scares here and there so if I may ask, would you be so kind to say a prayer for the baby Jese is carrying. Pray that this child is healthy and comes into this world giving my brother a run for his money, just like he did to my parents not to mention ME, his little sis!!!!

Congratulations Guys!!!

We love you so much!!!

It Happens

Feeling Blue

I don't know how to explain my feelings today, the one word that comes to mind is pure sadness.

I knew this recovery would be very difficult and unfortunately it's only just begun.

My incision is not healing correctly, probably due to the fact that the same incision has been used three times now. The scar may in fact require a scar revision at some point.....time will tell.

I remain in SEVERE pain, most of the time. Sleep just isn't happening for me at night so usually I try and sleep a few hours during the day. However, Jalyn is so sad when he comes home from school to find me in bed and I can't blame him one bit. So today I was up the whole day with no rest.

Leila called Laura (our nanny) "mommy" today.....WOW did that hurt. That hurt deep. I waited incredibly long to hear those beautiful words come out of that beautiful child's lips while looking at me. Sure, you can say oh she just got confused or what not, but it hurt just the same.

Jalyn is an angel......I've known this since he was born. He watches out for me...."MOMMY! YOUR BENDING!!!" He says prayers for me and I receive extra hugs and kisses. He likes to look at my incision and ask "was it more painful when I came out of there?" (Yes we've had the whole where do babies come from and how do they get out chat already. If you ask me, c-section-er's have it much easier explaining the out part! Of course, we kept it at the level appropriate for a five-year-old.)

Tariq has been an amazing husband, there for me through it all. He wakes me up to provide the good stuff (pain meds during the night). He just arrived home and he's fixing dinner (a very healthy dinner I might add), he always provides me with smoothies packed with protein powder, flax, fruits and my personal favorite.....sherbet! I am so blessed to have a devoted hubby. He is my rock that has pulled me through so many difficult times in my life and this time is no different.

Well.....Leila is off to Nana and Jidu's for a slumber party so mommy and daddy doesn't have to worry about parties in the middle of the night:) Jalyn is about to hit the hay here is a few minutes. This would be the time where I would read to relax, but for some reason I cannot see. What I mean exactly is that when I try to read the words blur together. I try and shake me head, close me eyes for a minute and readjust but it doesn't help. Even typing this has been a challenge. I don't know if this is medication related or anesthesia related, but whatever it is it sucks.

I miss my mom, she went home Saturday.

Well I'm off to shower, put on cozy pj's, and love on my son and then of course, the dogs.

I hope and pray that tomorrow I wake up a different person. Out of the past four surgeries I've gone through, I have to say that this by far (so far) has been the best in terms of not feeling nauseous, extremely tired and run down. I also have never felt so inspired to come out fighting to get back to normal. I want my life back, pain free. Oh the things we will do, the places we will go. That's why feeling down right now has been hard, it's like I'm letting myself down in a way, letting my husband down as I know he needs/wants me back.

Tomorrow I am determined to wake up happy and excited about the future, about the vacations we will take when I recover enough. I want nothing more than to hold my baby girl and rock her, cradle her and remind her who loves her more than anyone else in this entire world. I want to snuggle next to Jalyn, bend down to give him those awesome bear hugs he gives, and remind my husband how very much in love I am with him;)

But for tonight I will take a warm shower, cry and let the pain deep in my soul out for a short time. I believe it's unhealthy to keep our feelings inside, at least for me it's healthier to let them out and move on.

To leave you with appropriate lyrics from a Sugarland song:

Now it is poor me, why me, oh me boring

the same old worn out blah blah story

There is no good explanation for it at all

Ain't no rhyme or reason

No complicated meaning

Ain't no need to over think it

Let go laughing

Life don't go quite like you planned it

We try so hard to understand it

But the irrefutable, indisputable fact is.......

S%$!......... It happens

Fair Weather Friends

"You are the rain that falls on my earth."

Jalyn tells me.

This could be taken either way.

He and I absolutely love the rain (when and if we ever see it!) However, rain to some is seen as a nuisance.

I reply "is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A good thing mommy, and I hope you land on a rainbow."

What Jalyn was telling me is that I am his everything. In his five-year-old language, he is saying that no matter what ups and downs we encounter, we will face them together. When times are tough for me and us, he hopes that I'll land on a rainbow to catch my fall (as I am the rain.....follow me?)

Throughout life, we meet many people. Some come, some go, and some simply linger.

I've had many (as we all have) that come around much more often when they have something major going on in their lives.

I've spent numerous hours (away from my own dear ones) happily comforting those experiencing pain of all kinds.

Yet when their storm passes and one blows in my way they are no where to be found.

I have a handful of true friends that I know would be there for me through thick and thin, and they know that I would always be there for them, and a few is all anyone really needs to feel completely blessed.

It still stings when you've felt like you've given a piece of yourself to someone who was not sincere.

As I tucked Jalyn into bed tonight he looked up at me and said: "mommy, even when I'm old and it's not cool to hug mommies, I'm going to hug you anyway".

My little buddy, my best friend. You always make me laugh. Thank you for always reminding me what/who is truly important in life. Who has time anymore for fair weather friends?!

Today I vow to give more of myself to my constant, loyal and amazing friends and family.

Go Fish!

Today we tried a new after school snack we named "Go Fish". (Very creative...I know:)

You will need small pretzel sticks, cream cheese and gold fish.

You take your "fishing pole" (pretzel's) and add the "bait" (cream cheese) to the end.

Then go fish!

There's just one rule......

You have to eat what you catch! No throwing em' back!

Have fun!

Shiver Me Timbers!

Today, exactly one hour ago, I received one of the many calls a mother fears.......
"Mrs. Al-Mutawa?" "This is she" I replied terrified of what I might here come out of this woman's mouth next........."Your son Jalyn is throwing up and we need you to come get him as soon as possible."

And the flu bug knocks our healthy house out with one swipe.

Dog gone it!

So........ seven-up, Popsicles, movies, blankets and thermometers it is.

Here's to staying in and waiting it out.........

Lost: First Tooth Gained: Pride, Courage and Trust

Well here it is folks, Jalyn lost his first tooth lastnight. We had to call Michigan to wake Mamma and Papa from their cozy slumbers to give the announcement. We had to interupt Nana and Jidu's dinner complete with guests. We had to call his cousins so he could proudly explain how he lost his first tooth and how his daddy pulled it out so gently that it didn't even hurt. Tariq's eyes lit up when Jalyn bragged about his tooth-pulling skills..........(he told me tonight that hearing Jalyn say those things about him just may be the highlight of his life:)

The toothfairy came and left five dollars with a note. He took the note to school and his teacher read it to the class, he was so proud.

This morning Jalyn requested that I not only stay in the car while he waits at the bus stop, but that I give him his kiss now and not when the bus arrives:(

Sometimes I feel as though I'm reading a book and reading it fast. One of those really good books that you just can't seem to put down. You turn the pages as fast as you can to see how it ends. Well that book is my life, and it's flying by.

Well there you have it.......This was my surprise. I'm so darn proud of the little guy.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

(with this handsome fella)

Thursday morning Jalyn and I will board a plane to what just may be the coldest place on earth right now........Michigan.

My father-n-law was admitted to the hospital and should be released shortly. Needless to say, it became evident that one of the children would need to tag along. Jalyn happily volunteered himself; what an unselfish little guy I have:)

Since then, we have been scouring the desert for snow pants, mittens, hats, scarves, and long johns.......do you know how impossible this task was??? The desert is just not prepared for a major snowstorm!

I have to admit that I am more than happy to have a travel buddy! It's no secret how afraid I am of flying. Jalyn will help take my mind off the fact that I'm high up in the air trusting a bunch of metal, fuel and two people I know nothing about to keep us safe!!

Anyhow, thank goodness for Aunt Jese and Uncle Jay who plan on keeping Jalyn fully entertained with sledding, skating and a trip to watch their youngest graduate from preschool (and yes I'm talking about a dog:)