The adventures of Monkey and her mommy

Updates due

2005-05-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

We know that updates are due but we have been so busy here, it's not even funny. We don't even have time to attend our own BBQs.

Currently we are very busy entertaining taha the tiger from the south. together, we found important marriage contracts, ins apps and other imp paperwork that had been put away somewhere safe. now there is no place to walk in the study. so next is my own room. the living room has been put off limits because some guests are expected.

well, we have to go now so that people can get their evening tea. there are some wonderful school stories to tell and you shall hear them when we have time to tell. otherwise, we will remain busy experiencing them.

dear people,

2005-03-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

our house is swamped by viruses. we need to get healthy again. monkey's first ever spring break was spent im high fevers, when we were meant to go on a long long road trip. isn't that just sad?

2005-03-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

m is asleep. the southern tiger is visiting. i am supposed to go for a meeting but don't really feel like it. still have to cook but no feel.
i think i have contracted chai's illness.

m loves her principal and vice versa. i have been told by her teacher that m runs to the principal for hugs and then sits in her lap, which the p never does for other students.

m painted her first islamic master piece - the tree of the forbidden fruit which Adam ate. she made red apples.

2005-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

monkey was practising using her scissors on the carpet .. really ... cutting it.
so baba asked: m aap carpet kaat rahi hain?
m: nahin baba
baba: aap jhoot bol rahi hain
m: nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin .. mein urdue mein bol rahi hun!

2005-02-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

Having a snow day. Whoo hoo!

2005-02-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

I got tulips from my husband today.

All grown up!

2005-02-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

My little baby is mashallah growing up really fast. I have been staying with her the entire day in preschool, so that she could adjust to being there and not be scared that mommy wasn't with her. Today she told me that I could go home. And when I went to pick her up, I was told she was giving hugs to the principal.

MnM

2005-02-22T23:31:00.000-08:00

We both need to catch up on our energies due to the flu. Anyways, Monday night was dinner at RainForest Cafe, where Nemo was the star attraction, as usual. We sat right next to the elephants, who did whatever it is that they do every 22 mins, so we got serenaded quite a few times. We also received visitors of several sizes who would just stand there and wait for them to move. M was completely amazed that their trunk was really their nose, and quite frightened in the beginning. The food was not as good for the price we paid, but all in all, we had an awesome time.

On another note, mommy misses home.

Dreams ...

2005-02-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

I am reading "Give Your Life a Success Makeover". I need a dream in order to set myself a goal to achieve. I have decided what my dream is. I want a house like Rolie Polie.

Life, beautiful life!

2005-02-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day today. The beginning of many more to come, inshallah, because our "jameela" has found his "jameeli"!

School stories

2005-02-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

M is learning how to use the scissors. She is completely mystified by their working!

M learnt all about glue and how it can make lots of fun things stick together.

M also made a new moon out of gold glitter on black paper.

Monkey's first day of school

2005-02-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

Whoo hoo! My little one is growing up. It was her first day at preschool today, which is part of the islamic center we go to. More updates later inshallah, as there are some pretty interesting ones to come.

2005-01-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been hectic and sad, so devatating and so out of our hands. May Allah provide all with some comfort. But it reminds us of how short and beautiful life is and how we take it for granted and misuse it.

On that note, let me say that some of the blogistanis that I have met are the nicest people around and as I have already admitted to them ... I am hopelessly in love with them. So Abez, Owlie and Chai ... knowing you has been a pleasure all mine. (So what happened to those earrings that I liked on your cousin, Chai?) I am sorry for the mis-written thought on my last blog. There was a heart-felt desire in that, which came out wrong.

On another note, I am making some pretty good cheesecake now. So we celebrated Uchi mamun's 23rd with that yesterday! But unfortunately, he might be unable to use the aftershave that we got him as he is growing a beard now. Now Monkey has no male soft cheeks to kiss! Nana leaves for UAE in less than a week and we are trying to have as much fun as possible. But we are very sad. Life changes so many contexts when you grow up.

Yesterday we also went and registered our vey own Monkey for her first school from next week. There, inshallah, she will start learning Quran suras and duas. Now she mashallah knows all her Arabic alphabets. Uchi mamun feels sorry for her teachers already!

PS. Baj babe, we are still waiting for you and yours.

Some important updates

2004-12-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

So mashallah Chamman mamun in finally married. Anyways, that is the mithai that we are enjoying for all those wondering. Pakistani mithai from Nirala and Karachi, and all sorts of baklava from UAE ... mmmm. Of course, no one is even considering weighing themselves these days. Thankfully, winter clothes hide a lot.

Well, so the mumani is out of the country ... this was a cross-continent nikah! The goras here cannot get over how he could get married without kissing his bride ... hahaha! Poor guy, though. We bought him a lovely lovely bouquet. He also got some wonderful presents from you know who. Monkey has dresses, jewellery and accessories all ready to wear for a festive occasion. Just waiting for the word. Now it is Wee Wee mamun's turn to be hooked next and we know for a fact that he is terribly happy about it!

Uchi mamun is moving to Indy ... for work. Monkey will miss him terribly, as he was the only one in her age group. Monkey mashallah knows her Arabic alphabets very well now. Dada is not coming right now, so we are keeping plenty busy with Nana nani. Yesterday we went shopping with them. That was so much fun. All monkey did was run around everywhere and play hide and seek. Will be very glad to see this season end.

So many people around us are having babies, it is crazy. There are yet more to come. Mommy was cooking for Aasiya's aqeeqah today. It turned out to be a really fun evening. We made lots of new friends and got to wear nice clothes and churian. We have quite a few new baby gifts to buy. And so life goes on.

We're back!

2004-12-16T23:15:00.000-08:00

So finally got cable modem yesterday. Internet is sweet. Nana nani are here with tons of gifts for everyone, especially Monkey. Not to mention even more mithai for Chamman mamun's nikah. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Wee wee mamun is all alone though. That's not good. But he is really happy that he is next in line :)

All are welcome to visit our new place and help unpack any number of boxes!

Moving ... finally!

2004-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

OK, everyone, inshallah tomorrow we will get the key to our new apartment and start moving in the evening itself. Yay!!! So we will be offline for a few days.

Hasan chacha is finally here. We all went out to dinner at Charcoal Kabab. Looks like he is going to be around for a while. Fun times have arrived. More on the way - from all over the world.

2004-11-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

The sun is finally out today after almost two weeks of continual rain. But it is still very windy and cold. We are leaving for Winchester soon to meet some wonderful new friends. And then, in the evening .... Hasan chacha is coming ! That will be so much fun. Mommy isn't feeling very good and Baba wants food, as always!

Monkey mashallah knows her surah fatiha, the first kalma, most of the adhan, and tons of alphabets! Last night, monkey and mommy went over many English alphabets in her story book. She mashallah recognizes most of them. Now we have to work harder on the Arabic alphabets.

Trek back

2004-11-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

Hey, we came back after about 3 months just to re-read some of our stories and saw sweet comments by people. Sorry to have missed you guys out earlier.

Baji, Thank you so much for your wedding invite. If mommy had read it earlier, I, monkey, would have made sure I attended in my "better than the bride's " lehnga, and danced so pretty! We are getting ready to move soon inshallah. So you must come visit us soon.

Abez, sorry to read about your headaches. Know that you have been in our prayers in Ramadan.
Anjum, don't really know you but thank you for the wishes. Hope Ramadan and Eid went great for you all too.

Wee mamun, welcome back home from the land of the chaotic! So where are my churian?

We will have to update you later, as we need to clean up the house at 1 am in the morning for Taha the Tiger from the South.

Dear Uchi mamun

2004-11-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we saw you looking very handsome in the sky. You were surrounded by beautiful clouds.

Fishy MIA!

2004-08-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Baba just decided not to go to work today and called in sick. So monkey and baba had some quality time today. Now he finally understands how tough it can be to get anything done with her around! But he did do 2 loads of laundry and vacuumed the place. Awesome, right? He did manage to annoy the babysitter though and she has refused to have her over on Friday.

So ... as the story goes ... mommy finally selected frames and is getting them made at Walmart. That's what lunch break was for. Tomorrow is a big day. Things to do and goals to accomplish. I am praying really hard. Life needs to move on.

On our way to the weekly lecture on historical figures, monkey fell asleep in the car. Slept straight from about 8 to 10.30 pm, and now she is awake. And I am so dead tired. Anyway, today was Chaman mamun's b'day, but we were not able to wish him because he does not like it. Mommy wasn't very happy. After coming back, Baba was feeding the fish when he realized that one was missing. That caused quite some panic, as he remembered that monkey was trying to "put a fish to sleep" in her quilt. So we started moving the rocks, corals and colossieum in the tank to try to at least find the body, when suddenly it darted out from under the colossieum. Whew!

2004-08-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it definitely felt great about going back to work today after 5 days off. Monkey and mommy had lots of fun. We had two play dates, for both of us. Promises for more. Mommy had a productive week alhamdulillah with her SAM. Mommy also put mehndi on monkey's hands. She was thrilled beyond words.

Monkey bugged Uchi mamun to death today. Wouldn't let the poor guy sleep. But he can not live without her anymore either. That's for sure.

So another couple of orangutans are back from a trip to desiland. Monkey would have fun with them. Older one just adores her. Had a visitor couple of days ago to blog. Love her website. Really want to go to her wedding.

It was a few days of well cooked food. Ooh, did we mention Taha tiger was visiting from the South? Now that was an awesome day!

Where, oh, where have we been?

2004-08-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Just here and there and everywhere, and yet nowhere at all.

But yes indeed we have been up to stuff. For example, chick watches, bird watches, bank watches, and diamond watches. Ah yes ... what a wonderful life!

Well, wee wee mamun and nani are finally back after a harrowing month in desiland. Monkey seems to have gotten a lot of trinkets and treasures, but there seem to be none for mommy.

The Rankoussi girls are off to their nani''s place for a little R&R. Mommy has been at work for the last two weeks and loves leaving Monkey with Uchi mamun. And the torture we give the poor guy is a whole blog by itself!

Well, we are busy making things with play-doh. Another business and play meeting tomorrow morning inshallah. Monkey needs to grow a little, mommy needs to lose a little, and we need to sleep human time, not jungle time.

Long time no write

2004-08-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

It was fun, but I still missed it. Just never got around to it. Uchi mamun is over. Baba didn't go to work today. Mommy had an interview and the interviewer was absent!

So yesterday we had to drive the Rankoussi girls for an eye doctor visit. It was an awesome trip. Yasu and Monkey watched Elmo all the way there. The waiting room was a great play area for us. While Fa was with the doctor, both Yasu and Monkey just had a blast running around in the waiting room. They were great entertainment even for the other patients waiting around. Yasu even offered a senior lady Monkey's milk bottle. Rayana could not bear to be tied up in the stroller as she watched the other two play around. So I let her out and she crawled around after them. But they always left her behind and she could not keep up with them. Fa later told me that she could hear the girls inside very clearly. I guess some staff there thought the girls had done nuts!

Then off to lunch we went. No fast food place to be found. Then Mommy found McD and bank right next to each other. So we all hopped out for a quick meal. We were near Baba's office and we invited him to lunch with us.

A 5 am day

2004-07-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

Monkey was actually up at about 5 am this morning. Then she just kept playing and waking me up to go to the bathroom. Baba was woken up to be told that she had shared her milk from the bottle with the fish! It was such a frustrating morning, because I fell alseep about 4 in the morning only to woken up so early again.

After Baba left, I put on cartoons for Monkey and went back to sleep. When I woke up at 11, she was already alseep herself. It was so adorable. And the day's activities started with a visit by the 3 infamous Rankoussi girls!

Made my first Artistry skin care sale today. That felt just awesome! Another wonderful treat of the week was a postcard from Seven Springs. An invitation from Vidya, Rama, Chak and Uma to join them. Definitely accepted. An inspiring note from Kulin and Mina to dream big. Already do. Just have to find the means to realize it. Working on that. Help us, Allah.

2004-07-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

Fa had dropped off the girls yesterday and then we all had lunch. Yasu woke Monkey up as usual at about noon!

Today, we were up at 9 am or so though, so we were getting in tune with the rest of the world. Uchi mamun came over to play with Monkey while Mommy ran out for some errands. Even he was worn down by her in just 3 hours. Then Baba wants to know why I did not accomplish anything the whole day. So the carpet cleaning machines left. Those people did a lousy job - because I had already done all the work myself. It really ticked me off. Don't know what the landlord is trying to accomplish with that.

A client was supposed to be coming today for skin care products. No show.
Had a phone interview with a recruiter at a consulting firm. They wanted someone who could be at client site 4 out of 5 days. Aaaaaaaaaah ...... no can do. First job call and already a no go. I am so tired of searching for the same jobs over and over again. I just want this search phase over with.

Baba went for a walk around the lake with uncle Nadeem - not mommy. Monkey sort of liked him. She had a v v long bubble bath and was kicking and screaming when taken out. But it was great that she went to bed on time and I could just relax the rest of the evening.

What a stupid weekend!

2004-07-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

No zoo, no hiking, no farmer's market.

Don't know where the day went today.

Monkey had a tough day

2004-07-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

That's all I'll say. After her hour and a half of bathroom mis-adventure, she was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep. So we could not even go for jumma. It breaks my heart to see her in so much pain.

A lazy day

2004-07-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Woke up about 11 am today when Fa called to ask if she could drop Yasu off for a while. I had a great sleep! Monkey was also sleeping, and Yasu was the one who woke her up. Here is how. Yasu was still standing in front of the mirror in the entrance, and she said to me "Aunty, juice." Monkey heard that and came running out of bed. The joyous looks on the faces of these two girls is just priceless. I cannot even describe their feelings that I see when they meet. No matter how much they argue over toys, they always seem to understand each other in their non-sensical chatter. I pray that they grow up together like sisters.

In the evening, we all went to the outlet mall and Monkey got to play on the slide. She was observing other children carefully and then copied some of their antics. She managed to jump down from the ramp, which was even higher than her. And she was absolutely thrilled at her success. A couple of more jumps, and Baba thought it was enough. But you cannot stop Moneky from being herself! No, sir! She was then sliding down on her back, head first!!! I was gasping with fright, while she was having a ball.

Girls Day In

2004-07-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yasu and Ra were over in the morning for a couple of hours today. Fa was getting the house ready to be photographed for listing. The young ones had a ball.

Monkey and Yasu were running from room to room, getting every toy out. Ra was trying to keep up with them as fast as she could crawl. But those two just ignored her completely and that started a thunderstorm. Well, there went my peaceful cup of tea! I had to carry that child around for almost 40 minutes, and it was not easy! She must weigh almost 1.5 times more than Monkey and it was tough on my arms. Guess I need to build some muscle. So then I fed R her jar food which was not enough for her. Yasu and Monkey meanwhile were busy playing with foam packing in the bedroom.

I got a break for about 3 hours when they went to take their nap and then they were back at about 4 pm. The photographer was going to be there soon. Yasu loves Monkey and is always thrilled to be over here. Monkey feels the same way, but still does not like to share her toys with Yasu. Poor Ra does not get any at all.

Well, day ended with me going to Kriya. It is always a great experience. I have an interesting group there. There were more members this time and I was surprised how dedicated some were.

And another day of adventure ...

2004-07-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

... it was when Monkey and mommmy went to the library after months! First we sat outside and ate some cheeseballs and mango juice for breakfast at the noon hour. Then we had a great time climbing all over the modern chairs. There were so many interesting objects to play with. Reading seemed pretty boring comparatively. Well, mommy eventually found a book to read while Monkey played in the children's section of the library with other just as adventurous children.

So baba came home and ate. Then we all went out for a walk around the lake to see the ducks and geese. It was full of discoveries, as we stopped to play with every dog out for a walk, insisted on playing with the ducks in the middle of the lake, and admanant on wanting to pet a very non-friendly cat in her backyard. Well, coming back inside without having played with all the really interesting beings was not a pretty sight.

But the day ended really nicely with Monkey insisting on going to the mosque with Baba for isha prayers. Seems like both father daughter and mother had a great hour!

Getting Monkey to sleep now is another story!

Duck day

2004-07-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

Madame Monkey was pretty well behaved today, surprisingly! We had a lot of visitors from the lake right outside our patio - of all shapes and sizes. Families of ducks and geese. I guess they were seeking refuge from the rain.

There have been no attacks on the fish in the fish tank since Baba installed the lock on the tank cover on Saturday. Who was attacking, you ask? Well, take a wild guess!!! Madame Monkey, of course! But she managed to scare them by banging the tank wildly. She was so like Darla in Finding Nemo.

Another day is over. This was a tough one for Dada and Baba. It's been 3 weeks since Dadi left.

The big day !

2004-07-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

Monkey and her mommy have gone techno! We are now officially bloggers!

I was reading up Princess Abez' blog today and realized how badly I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but had never allowed myself the time to ... let alone do it ... even think about it. So while I was waiting for Monkey's baba to come back from the mosque, I thought I would check out blogspot.com. Little did I know I would actually get started today! I had no idea that it was for free! And here I was bugging Monkey's techno-nerd Wee Wee mamun to set me up one. Well, take that mister!