Oops he did it again

We always thought of Sumayah as the wild one...and then Yusuf happened! He acts like Houdini and looks like Rocky Balboa. He's always climbing on everything, often resulting in him having an altercation with the floor...or the table...or the cupboard...or the wall. He's become so accustomed to knocking his forehead that he usually just gets up, gives the sore area a quick smack and off he goes. Usually he ends up with a bruise, but there have been a few bloody incidents too. The 2 most recent happened within a few days of each other both times involving his bottom lip. He has this habit of standing on the desk chair facing the back and leaning against it! Disaster is narrowly avoided by me running to take him off. But it is impossible to have your eye on him 100% of the time so it was inevitable that he would one day fall. It just so happens that it happened on dad's watch. I was at a kiddies party with Sumayah and Uthmaan and when I returned I discovered what could be described as a murder seen...there was blood everywhere! There was a bloody cloth in the bath, blood on the carpets, a bloody jacket and blood stained pillow on the bed. Then Yaasier recounted how he went to the bathroom when he heard a thump and a cry. He came out of the bathroom to find Count Dracula with blood dripping down his chin running around the room laughing!

 
A few days later his lip again fell victim to one of his other favourite monkey tricks...climbing on the dining table  benches and using it as a balance beam. I had just gone upstairs to fetch something when I heard Bilaal calmly call out 'mommy! Yusuf fell off the bench now his lip is bleeding...alot!' And Sumayah in a more panicked tone 'mommy come quick theres blood mommy!' So I quickly go downstairs to once again find him looking like a vampire who had just had his dinner running around laughing with delight while bright red blood dripped down his chin. 

   

School update

After monday's traumatic school-going events (more traumatic for me than Sumayah) the week seems to have improved day by day. There has been no tears all week, in fact yesterday morning when we walked into the class, Sumayah actually shrieked with excitement at the sight of her classmates and teacher. There's nothing that puts a mum more at ease than knowing that your child loves her school. Last night she even asked me if she can go to school again with her school bag. I'm also loving that they have started potty training with her at school. When I fetch her she is usually not wearing a nappy and had been dry all morning. So this weekend we're going to get her some pretty big girl pants and officially start potty training.

Bilaal is also really enjoying school. He's only complaint is that break is shorter so there isn't alot of time to play. He's day is also alot longer now with extra-murals usually only ending at 2.30, but he's been coping really well with all the changes. He's also been surprisingly diligent with the care of his belongings when they have to change for sport etc, let's hope it lasts! This morning is the interhouse gala. It's a normal school day with the gala in the morning, but parents are welcome to attend if they wish. Last year we attended because it was his very first school sporting event he was participating in so both Yaasier and I were there to suport him. But his year I didn't feel it was neccessary to specially take off work. So this morning he actually asked me if we were coming and was quite disappointed when I said both dad and I have to work. I explained to him that it wasn't a family event otherwise they would make it on a weekend, and that his dad and I would always try our best to be there to support him at important events. I guess I underestimated the importance kids place on having parents share in their experiences. Fortunately I start work quite late and his school is on my route, so I promised him I would be there as long as I could stay, but that I would have to leave at a certain time even if he hadn't swam yet. He understood and accepted this, so now I just hope I at least get to see him swim before I have to dash off to work. Just 3 more weeks for more before I officially start the waiting game for baby to arrive!

Not a wordless wednesday

I realise that today is supposed to be picture day, but I have been neglecting my blog for a while now so I thought I'd make an exception. I have been very busy lately but mostly I just haven't had the creative energy to express my self verbally so blogging has taken a back seat. In the mean time the kids have grown so much in such a short time. Sumayah has had her 2nd birthday and we recently had to put in our application for Bilaal for Grade 1 next year! I just cannot believe how quickly this year is going!

Sumayah continues to be a whirlwind of energy and Bilaal's calm and charming nature just seems to provide the perfect balance. He said to us the other day, "when I asked Allah for a sister, I didn't think she would be like this!"

They are at that age now where they actually play well together so it gives us a chance to have a bit of a lie in on weekends. They will happily entertain each other in their rooms while we catch a few extra winks. Of course they have their moments where you hear crying or screaming as they fight like all siblings do, but we don't get up and intervene unless they come complaining that someone got hurt. I have learned a while ago that as a parent you sometimes you just have to chill and let them figure it out by themselves. And believe me after less than a minute we hear them laughing again. Another thing I am totally chilled about compared to when Bilaal was a toddler is the morning routine. On weekends I have no guilt letting them wait till 10.30 sometimes 11 for their brekkie, because guess what?... They survive! If they are busy having fun and haven't come to tell me they're hungry yet (and I assure you Sumayah Will come and tell me), why should I stress? I have far fonder memories of my sister and I playing in our pjs till late on a sunday morning and my dad having a good chill in bed, reading the sunday paper than remembering having breakfast before a certain time. So here's to happy childhood memories.

Movie Clip Monday 14

Bilaal is really growing at lightning speed, not only in height (and shoe size!) but in terms of his maturity and acquisition of skills. In this last 6 months he has learned to read completely on his own, do simple arithmetic, tell time and ride his 'big boy bike'. In the beginning of the year his teacher was concerned about his ability to listen and follow instructions, but recently she told me that he has really improved tremendously and this was reflected in his June report. It was a really funny feeling bursting with such pride reading a Grade 0 report! This clip is of him riding his bike. It only took him 2 lessons with his dad to be fully confident to ride on his own. Yaasier says needs to get running shoes to keep up with him when he takes Bilaal out on the roads because he goes so fast now lol! Bilaal always laughs at me when I tell him that I can't ride a bike... no i am not joking, I really can't ride a bike! Well to be fair I can ride in a straight line, but just don't expect me to change direction.

Cuter by the Day

Sumayah just gets cuter, more adorable by the day. She drives me nuts sometimes, but I love her to bits! And now we are approaching her 2nd birthday and while I can't believe how quickly the time has passed and how fast she is blossoming into the beautiful, animated full-of-life character that she is; at the same time it feels as though she has been part of our lives for much longer than 2 years. She's been singing Happy Birthday all week and when you ask her how old she's going to be she she's '4'! I find I'm actually looking forward to her party because I can't wait to see her excitement when we give her presents and she sees her cake and all her little friends. Especially because she is such an expressive little girl, yes it means she can be quite the drama queen, but its also what makes her special.

Schools out

When children start school they are exposed to a whole new world. School is not only a place where academic learning takes place, it is also a place where a child is introduced to the wider world, free from 'parental guidance'. I have been reminded of this more and more as Bilaal gets older, especially now that he is at 'big' school. It is amazing how much he has matured this past 6 months since he's been in grade R. But the funny questions and insights keep on coming.

The other day Bilaal wagged his middle finger the way you would gesture someone to come toward you with your index finger, and asked me, ''mommy, why is this a rude sign? What does it mean?'' I was a bit stumped by the question because I didn't particularly want to tell him what it means. I ended up telling him that all he needed to know was that its a rude sign that he shouldn't use and theres no reason its rude, it just is!

Then the other day he told me that one of the boys in his class kissed a girl in his class on the cheek. I asked him why and he said that the girl told him to or she would tell on him to the teacher. Apparently another classmate saw and told everyone and thats how they all knew.

There are many other tidbits that evades my memory now, but hopefully I will get back to regular blogging so that I don't lose any more of those precious gems.

Misery loves company

The season of sickness is upon us! Everywhere you turn there's someone coughing or sniffing and our house has been no exception! This is the reason I haven't blogged in some time. We have just had an endless cycle of misery doing the rounds. It started with Bilaal, then to me, then back to Bilaal, then Sumayah, me again and now finally, Yaasier. Now I realise getting sick is inevitable, but I usually don't get affected as badly as I did this time. All I wanted to do was crawl deep under the covers for a few days and sleep. But of course there is no sick leave when your job description is 'mommy'. There's still kids to feed and bath and fetch from school and all the rest. I was in Dischem the other day buying a humidifier for the kids' rooms when a complete stranger came up to me and asked me 'are you sick, you look very sick?'. I was taken aback but I answered yes to which she replied, 'shame you shouldn't be out.' When this happens you know you look terrible! I am happy to report though that I am feeling much better and so are the kids. But I have learned from this experience that Sumayah has the worst sick personality ever! Bilaal is crabby yes and just wants his mommy to hold him and comfort him a little, but Sumayah! Wow I have to say I had absolutely no patience with her when she was sick... She turned into a little monster! Now I know I'm not supposed to say that and feel all tender and loving toward my sick little baby girl... Fek that! I am only expressing the truth. And the truth is that I do not like her very much when she is sick and I am soooo glad she is better or I swear I would've gone potty. Here's to everyones health this winter!

Almost another Accident and Emergency

On thursday we almost had another accident and emergency experience...and yes, it involved Sumayah. Fortunately she is quite a tough little cookie and A&E was avoided. If you are a regular follower of this blog, by now you will have deduced that Sumayah is quite a little wild child. She is also very stubborn. No matter how many times I tell her not to do something complete with a variation in disciplining techniques, she will continue to do it. And she knows when she's being naughty, 'cos she will tell me, 'mayah's naughty' and then proceed to do it anyway. So on thursday she kept standing on the dining room chairs, leaning against the chair back. I kept telling her, then reprimanding her, then warning her and then finally distracting her with something to play with. But of course later she came back and did it again. Only this time she leaned on the back of the chair just enough to sending the chair tipping over onto the tiled floor. She cried of course and was given much comfort, but reprimanded at the same time that this is what happens when you don't listen. After a few minutes of hugs and affection, the crying subsided to a moan and when I looked at her I saw a huge bump had popped out of the side of her head. I put some ice and vaseline on it and by this time Yaasier came home. So we were left with the decision - bump to the head = A&E? She seemd fine, but was a bit reserved for her usual self. So I phoned the dr who told me to look out for vomitting, loss of apetite and unusual drowsiness. She soon started playing again, but wasn't as responsive to stimuli as she usually is. But then Yaasier offered her ice-cream and all was back to normal. Here are some pics of the bump. By this time the bump had gone down quite alot already. The next day it was completely gone, but a little blue bruise appeared in the corner of the eye. And not surprisingly after 2 days, Sumayah was back on the diningroom chairs!

Supermom to the rescue!

I don't normally do a written post if I've already posted a movie clip monday, but today I make an exception. I have just seconds ago had to literally embody what it means to be supermom. My lovely little wild child of a daughter was slamming her bedroom door with much vigour and amusement. I reprimanded her once, then twice, then used the distraction technique. This worked, but only momentarily. While grabbing a very rare chance of doing-nothingness between packing away laundry and cooking supper, Sumayah's bedroom door suddenly slammed and I heard Bilaal calling out, 'mommy! The door can't open! Moommmyyy!'
So mommy strolls over to see what the problem is, only to discover that Bilaal is quite correct! Now bear in mind that the door has no key, so the simple explanation that it was locked was not possible. Bilaal was actually very calm consoidering he was trapped in a room with a toddler who likes to shout for fun and gets pleasure out of pinching her brother for no apparent reason. So I assess the situation, ask Bilaal a few questions about what happened and whether there was perhaps anything stuck in the door that could have jammed it, and I quickly realise the problem. Sumayah had slammed the door so hard (and believe me I am not surprised, we have seen how strong she is when she picks up her bike and carries across the room!) that she broke the spring mechanism of the door handle (says Mcgyver). What was I to do? Break the door down of course. Bilaal was amazing, I could hear him on the other side completely calm trying to distract Sumayah who was now hysterical that the door was closed and mummy-a (as she calls me in distress) was on the other side. He kept her away from the door just long enough for supermom to replicate the police-kicking-down-the-door manoevre I've seen in so many action movies, to the best of my ability. Well I'm not one half samson for nothing, because I kicked twice and it was just what was needed to reveal the part of the door handle that keeps it closed (see picture). All that was needed was a flathead screwdriver, a little wiggle and voila! The door is open and now unable to close, but at least the kids are free... On second thought perhaps I shoulda left them in there just a little longer... As we speak Bilaal is calling to me that Sumayah is switching his desk lamp on and off and its starting to smoke!

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A blogging break

I've been neglecting my blog somewhat, partly due to being very busy with work and partly because, like everything in life, sometimes its good to take a time out. Of course as Murphy would have it, this is when some very blogworthy incidents occur that I just don't get to etch into the blogistory pages. So I find myself playing catch up. I'll start with the most recent incident involving Sumayah, the toilet bowl, and an istinja bottle. Now for those of you who are not familiar with the istinja bottle, this is something you will find in every muslim household. And for those of you who hav never been into a muslim household, but have muslim work colleagues, you will recognise it as that label'less empty energade bottle that has the word 'do not remove' in black permanent marker, found in the toilet cubicles (i speak of course from a female perspective, I hav no idea what goes on in the male loos). As muslims we are required to rinse with water after using the loo and this is known as istinja. So anyway, now that Sumayah is able to open doors on her own, she has developed a new found love for the bathroom. If you just turn your back for second you hear the bathroom door open, and the sound of the hand basin tap opening to full blast promptly follows. This is when you find her diligently brushing her teeth and washing her hands. So now we have to lock all the bathroom doors. But a couple of days ago... I heard Yaasier exclaim, 'no Sumayah!', a common phrase in our house, so I wasn't exactly running to see what happened... And then I heard what she did! Apparently Sumayah had gotten hold of the istinja bottle, and was dipping it into the toilet bowl with its blue cistern block water and saying, 'mmm, juice, mm!' can you imagine?! If Yaasier had caught her just a second later?! So now the locking of bathroom doors are more vigorously enforced... that is of course until she figures out how to turn the key...she's already been practicing!

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Tooth fairy update

Bilaal eventually fell asleep, but I left my tooth fairy mission till much later lest he catches me in the act! I made sure he put it in a position that 'would be easy for the tooth fairy to get to'. I scratched out a coin somewhere... Shew! Then just before I going to bed the tooth fairy gracefully (well if you don't count tripping over a shoe on the way to the bed) scratched around under Bilaal's pillow, who just happened to now be lying on that very spot! I, I mean the tooth fairy, had to carefully feel around under the sleepy head to get to the tooth fairy bag with the note in (see previous post) to replace it with a coin. Result :-D!

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The lost tooth

About a week ago Bilaal asked me to look in his mouth because he could feel something strange in behind his teeth. Well it turned out it was a permanent tooth that had emerged from his gum. However it was rising behind his milk teeth so was quite a way ou already, yet his milk tooth was only slightly wobbly. Nevertheless we all got very excited at the prospect that the tooth fairy would be visiting us soon.

Well this evening Bilaal started to complain that his loose tooth was paining even if he didn't bite with it. When I checked I realised that his permanent tooth was more than halfway out already and the milky was just hanging on to the gum. I was very surprised at Bilaal's reaction when I told him the tooth needed to be pulled out. He was totally fine with it, not one bit scared or nervous about the pain. We tried tugging at it a bit, but it was hard to get a good grip. So we decide just like in Charlie and Lola he should bite with the tooth into an apple. And what do you know it worked like a charm!

So he lost his first tooth from his mouth, and then his marvelous mom did something so awful! I went to rinse the tooth in preparation for the tooth fairy, but I opened the tap too wide... And there went the tiny tooth... Down the bloody drain!
"oh no! Oh no!" I shouted from the bathroom.
"what, what?!" shouted Bilaal from the lounge.
"oh no! I'm so sorry Bilaal, your tooth fell down the drain!"
And then of course his expression...well I took that as my punishment for being so careless with such precious commodity. But immediately I saved the situation with some creative licence afforde all parents. I told him not to worry because the minute your tooth comes out, the fairy knows about it and that would still be coming. So we wrote the tooth fairy a little apology note explaining what happened. I told Bilaal that if we put it under his pillow in the special tooth bag (I have a little organza bag) then she will be able to use her special fairy magic to find it in the drain and if she does she will still leave him a coin. He was very satisfied with this arrangement and went to bed a happy boy.

As we speak he is trying his very best to fall asleep despite the excitement. My next challenge: shit I just realised I don't have any money on me!

To be continued...

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Nuts about Bilaal

There are some things Bilaal says that I am not sure I should post, if only for the reason that I know somewhere down the line his older self may cringe with embarrassment. Just the other day is an example of one such incident. The other day Bilaal said to his dad, "Oh now I know what this is for!", referring to his sack of boy nuts... "when I squeeze it, I get a pain in my side, so it must be for giving you a pain in your side?"

Other things he asks me are not cringe-worthy, but usually puts a smile on my face. The other day he asked me, "Mommy, when a mommy and daddy get married, must the daddy be older than the mommy?" So I explain to him that there are no rules about age, except that both people must be adults to marry, but that you don't choose a partner based on age. "Oh, because I was wondering how do you find someone that is the right age..."

And then today, while driving home he asked what is a 'female'. The more I'm telling him it's a girl or a woman, the more he's saying to me, "No! but what is a female that eats meat?!". And it goes back and forth like that with him describing a female and what it eats till he said, "... dinosaurs..." and I realised what he meant. "Oh! you mean like carnivore and herbivore, not female!" He wouldn't be the first male species to refer to the female as carnivorous beasts!

Of course the one that always make me giggle is when he asked me when he will grow spiderwebs under his arms! SO I explain to him that you don't get spiderwebs under your arms, but that when he gets older he will grow hairs on different parts of his body, using facial hair as an example. But he just kept insisting, "so there don't come spiderwebs?... but the hair does it only look like spiderwebs?..."

"Yes Bilaal"... that's seems to be my line these days.

Little bit of this, little bit of that

It's been a while since I've posted on some of the generally funny and amusing things the kids do and say. Mostly it's been hard to keep posting because the awesome Jo'burg lightning fried our modem so internet access has been limited... what's new?! But now that I am connected again I just have to share some of the priceless moments we've had over the past few days. I am of course well aware that it may just be a case of 'you had to be there to find it funny', but hey, it's my blog right :)

So anyway the first and most recent thing that comes to mind happened just this afternoon. I had to make a quick trip to the shop and had Sumayah in the car. I don't know if I've mentioned 'The Dummy' yet, but it's safe to say that this is Sumayah's favourite possession. A while back when she lost her dummy for the third time and it was late at night, Yaasier popped off to the 24 hour pharmacy and came back with an old school honey dummy. Sumayah loves her honey dummy and has it hanging on a pink ribbon around her neck, making her look a tad like Maggie from the Simpsons. So anyways there we were driving to the shop, and Sumayah starts asking for her dummy as she usually does and as usual I tell her, "it's hanging around your neck!". But when I look back I see that the ribbon is leading behind her and under her arm, with the dummy just sticking out of the front of her armpit. Now you need to picture Sumayah sitting there strapped up in her car seat, dummy stuck under her armpit not able to stretch any closer to her mouth and she's looking at me with big brown eyes as if to say, 'how now?' The next thing I know she tilts her head forward and starts to suck the dummy right there in her armpit! I started laughing so much at the sight of her trying to look up at me while trying keep the dummy in her mouth at the same time! Like I said you had to be there!

Sumayah amuses us everyday, especially now that she's becoming more verbal. She has discovered the 'magic' word so when she really wants something and I've said no, she starts begging, "mommy pleeease!" and then of course proceeds to throw a tantrum. One thing we definately don't have to worry about is her standing up for herself. Bilaal tends to tease her continuously and she will start off shouting at him, eventually hitting him and when he still doesn't stop she uses her foot!

But she's also so incredibly cute. Every evening when her daddy gets home she makes him sit on the couch and shouts "tea! tea!", then I know I have to open her bag with her tea set so she can make her daddy some tea. Its so cute how she lays everything out on the coffee table then 'makes the tea' and serves it to him :)

Then there's Bilaal... a real chatterbox! From the moment I pick him up at school, all the way to the car, in the car, in the shop till finally we get into the house, Bilaal is talking NON-STOP! Even if I walk ahead of him into the house and he's still in the garage, he doesn't stop to wait till he's in hearing distance, he just keeps talking whether I can hear him or not! Yep talking he does well, listening... not so much. As with all little boys in this age group, they hear but do not listen. The other day I asked him to fetch me a peg outside, so he marched off and came back almost 5 minutes later with nothing in his hands. So I asked him, "where's the peg?" to which he replied, "Oh! you asked for a peg?!"
I looked at him in dismay and asked him what had he been looking for outside all this time, didn't he then know where the pegs were? And you'll never believe what he replied, "I thought you said 'pig' not 'peg' so I was looking for a pig." Yaasier just burst out laughing, and I just stood there speechless. He was seriously looking for a pig?!

no more excuses!

I always used sumayah as an excuse for not going to gym. But no more! This morning Yaasier suggested we all go to gym and just try her out at the childcare. So off we went and I was fully prepared to start 5 minutes of my workout only to be called out to console a crying child. But what do you know, while signing them in, Sumayah waltzed into the play area when she saw the other kids there and I didn't even have to sneak off! I just waved at her and said I'd be back soon and off I went. For about 15 minutes I kept expecting someone to call me, but I soon realised I had nothing to worry about.
Though I should give credit where credit is due. I don't think we would've tried this and I would even say part of the reason she was fine is because of this tuesday past. Yaasier was graduating after a long and stressful year of studying and assignments and I desperately wanted to be there. So our very dear friends, nay, rather I should call them family agreed to look after the kids. And this despite having a toddler of her own and being in her third trimester. And Sumayah had a marvelous time! Sure just about the time we were returning she started getting crabby, but that was to be expected. So thanks again to the Joulays, u are awesome friends! And here's to many more family visits to the gym.

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This clip is from Sumayah's birthday last year. When I watched this clip again I marvelled at how much she's grown since then!

Separation Anxiety - The Sequel

Just before Sumayah's 1st birthday, I posted about her separation anxiety. I remember being frustrated by it, but optimistic that it would pass as just another phase. Well it did pass, but I'm afraid it has emerged once again... but this time for very different reasons. This time it developed after a short period of time in her life that was bursting with change. And as we all know, change is the Kryptonite of childhood. Bilaal also experienced quite alot of change in his little lifetime, but it was managed over  a period of time. But this past festive season was very hectic for Sumayah.We had 2 weddings in 2 countries with 2 different families. The first leg of our little adventure began in Cape Town, where we were preparing for my sister-in-laws wedding. Sumayah had a marvelous time bonding with her grandparents and meeting all her cousins and aunts and uncles. Then we left the warm but windy (Sumayah hates the wind) Cape and departed to the UK to prepare for my sister's wedding. She was showered with love and affection and lots of attention once again, but this time by her other set of grandparents and aunt and uncle. To top it all, daddy and boeti were not with us so although she was loving her time in the UK, she really missed them terribly. Then finally, we took another long plane ride home, where she was once again very well behaved, only to discover that the next day all those warm fuzzy people she had just grown to love were once again nowhere to be found. Understanderbly, with me being the only meaningful constant among all the change, she has become very attached to me. She doesn't let me out of her site and the first few nights of sleep (or rather lack of sleep) was hellish to say the least. She has been sleeping alot better as she settles back  into her own room, but when she does wake and doesn't see me there next to her she screams a tormented cry... poor gal. Tomorrow I am supposed to return to work so I am a bit worried, but fortunately I am in a position to ease her into it gradually. In the mean time, Bilaal started Grade R this week, and it was an absolute breeze. In fact to him it was like no big deal at all. He entered the class and just slotted in as though he had been there for a whole year already. But more on that in another post.

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As I suspected when I introduced the idea of movie clip monday, It would not be easy to keep it up. Nevertheless here is a video of Bilaal in his school play. As you can imagine, I was very proud?

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