Just a little update!

It's officially winter here in my area! We already had a 10 inches of snow last Saturday. And since the trees are still leafy, we got lots of broken branches due to the excess snow weight and so major electricity outages. Good news our neighborhood didn't suffer that as a lot around.

In front of our house - 10/29/2011

It was Halloween last Monday. And since we don't celebrate Halloween, hubby picked the girls early from school last Friday because we didn't want them to attend the party. No Halloween means no costumes, and no trick or treat. Hubby and I talked to the girls and they were very understanding! They never complained. I was so proud of them. Hubby was so proud of them too, so he wanted to reward them. We went to the mall yesterday and they got to pick the toys they wanted. They both deserved them! 

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary! Man, we are getting old! But as long as we are getting old together, it's okay. I just can't believe a decade has passed already! 
 

Hubby just came back home with this lovely cake!

Eid is almost here! I'm done with Eid shopping for the whole family. I'm so excited about this Eid because it's on a Sunday. It has been a while since we had the Eid on a weekend. I have some nice plans for the Eid this year. I'll be posting pictures inshallah. We'll be fasting on Saturday inshallah. Fasting Arafa day is one of my favorite things about Eid Al-Adha. I keep remembering the Eid when we were actually on Arafat two years ago. I miss these days a lot. I always pray to get the chance to perform Hajj again.  

Eid Mubarak to you all in advance!

Happy 1st Birthday to my little boy!

One year ago today I was snuggled in my room at the hospital holding my 7 lb 3 oz baby boy! Since then he has been the sweetest thing in our life. It has been one wild ride, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy!

It was my birthday last Wednesday! That's why October is so special to me! I had a great day! My hubby got me this very nice cake. It was a nice surprise. To be honest, I expected a cake because he always gets me one. But this Barbie cake was unexpected. I was extremely happy. Hubby did it again; he made me so confident that I'm one of the happiest out there, alhamdulillah! It's not about the cake or the gift. It's about taking care of the smallest details. It's this unlimited love and kindness. 

 

Couple of weeks ago, my daughters asked me to get them some yarn to learn knitting. I was glad to hear that because I like knitting myself. It has been a while since the last time I did it so I was so excited about the whole thing. I also have been thinking about learning how to crochet, so I found it a good chance. Here is what I have been working on. I find it so relaxing and fun. I try to work on it during the girls' swimming classes, and whenever I get a chance!

I'm back :)

Actually, it did not take that long! I mean my break from blogging. Well, I promised to come back only when I have something good to talk about and I'm not sure if I have that thing. But I feel so good these days, and may be telling you how good I feel deserves blogging. Maybe I have to, after I bothered you with all those depressing posts!!!

Thank God I'm feeling better. The last couple of months were miserable. I guess I started to feel lonely, overwhelmed, and depressed the day my husband went back to work after the c-section. I had to resume my all responsibilities as a mom and wife, and I guess I was not fully ready to do so. Despite all my husband's help and understanding, I still could not manage it. I needed help, mentally and physically. But my husband was there all the time. I guess without his support, help, and love, I wouldn't be able to move on and feel better.

I was so sensitive, emotional, and confused. I couldn't control my feelings, and I even couldn't think right. I found myself getting angry for the silliest things. I couldn't handle crying for nothing. When I remember these things now, I feel so silly!!

Okay, what happened to make things better? I have no idea! And I think I'm not all better, but much better, I guess. I feel myself again, I can think right again, and I can enjoy things again! One of the things that helped was going out more. I stayed home most of the time in the last couple of months. Having a newborn and nursing him made hanging out uneasy. Cold weather made things more miserable. So last week my husband decided to work from home for the whole week so I can hang out everyday in the morning while the girls at school. He took care of the baby while I'm out. I had the chance to do something different each day. I went shopping on one day, had a lunch with my girl friends on another day. Feeling free again made all the difference.

Before getting to the end of this post I just want to mention something. Few weeks ago I wrote something about friendship; how keeping up friendship is hard. It's true, especially when you feel down. It's sometimes not your friends' fault as it's yours. Mad people can't be understanding and forgiving as they should be. I know that I have always to find excuses and to give more chances to my friends, but I didn't. I need to listen more and talk less, since talking does not always help. It didn't help in my case!

I guess that was a long post. Thanks for hanging on with me! It feels good to be back :)

Another random update!!

While some of you are still celebrating Eid, our one-day Eid is wrapped up and everyone is back to work/school. The girls and hub enjoyed having the day off. We went to the prayer in the morning and then had our breakfast at the Islamic center. The girls enjoyed their new clothes and money gifts from dad. Later that day we got the chance to see our friends and have dinner together at one of the girls' favorite restaurant. 

For me, I was not happy that I couldn't fit in any of the nice clothes I was planning to wear for Eid. Still, I managed to wear something else and it looked okay.

Talking about getting back in shape, I'm starting my weight watchers (WW) plan. I know that I will lose the pregnancy weight eventually, but I wanted to get faster results. I was motivated by some blogger friends who really got good results. I thought sharing this with everyone would be like those WW meetings where you need to show others the results you got. This will make it more serious and will make me stick to the plan. I will be posting another post regarding my WW later on.

Now, let's talk FUN. I went shopping last week. I got  to buy myself some gifts!! Yes, it was my birthday last month which happened to be few days before the baby delivery which also happened to be couple of weeks before our anniversary, so my hubby wanted me to pick the Birthday/anniversary/baby gift(s) by myself.

My Birthday cake

 

Our anniversary cake

I got to pick whatever I want, so I got this handbag and those sunglasses from Bloomingdales (I still need to pick one more thing):

So when I was not able to enjoy my clothes, those were great because they fit just FINE :)

I hope you all had a great Eid.

It is Ramadan in the air!

Ramadan is about to start, and inshallah it will be a blessed month to all Muslims. I'm so excited about the holy month, I'm not sure if I will be able to fast though! I started my third trimester couple of weeks ago, and as my belly gets bigger as I need to eat more frequent. I barely can survive two hours without a food or my whole body will start shaking so bad. Last time when I was pregnant, I was about 9 weeks pregnant when Ramadan started and elhamdulillah I fasted the whole month. However, I was so sick and not feeling to eat at all. This Ramadan, I will try to fast on the first day to see if I can do it or not, if it doesn't work I will make it up in winter, inshallah.

Last week we went to Paterson, NJ and did some grocery shopping for Ramadan. We bought yummy dates, Arabic cheese (too many kinds), dried apricot, spices, and too many other things. I just love Ramadan grocery shopping because it puts you in Ramadan atmosphere. Since Ramadan doesn't feel here in US the same way it does in Arab countries, we're trying to create this atmosphere ourselves so my kids and we enjoy it. I'm kind of worried though because of the long hours of fasting and the short sleep nights. It would be really hard on my husband and us, and I'm not sure if we can keep organized and productive as we hope to. Ramadan is all about fasting, praying, reading Quran, doing tahajud, and being too close to Allah, and I just hope we can perform well in this month. May Allah accept our worship in the holy month.

Now back to the food :) I haven't decided what to cook on the first day yet! Any suggestions?! My sister insisted on us to go to NYC and break our fast with them, but I don't think we will be able to do so because my husband will be working on that day, and it's gonna be hard to drive for 90 minutes for just having Iftar and then coming back on the same day.

It was the 10th anniversary for our official marriage (katb kitab) yesterday. This day is much important to me than the wedding day itself because it's the day on which we both became tied to each other and officially married. Time flies by so fast; it feels like yesterday and I remember all the details, the smallest ones. It is the best thing that ever happened to me. I'll be always not able to thank Allah enough for his blessings on me and my family.

Ramadan Kareem!

Getting a cold and "flowers" in hot summer!!!!

I'm not feeling well today! I'm having a cold. I find it weird because it's extremely hot these days. But I guess the air conditioner is behind my sickness. It's hard to have a cold in summer, and it's even harder when you're pregnant. I only can take Tylenol, nothing else to help me feel better.

Yesterday I was not feeling well too, so my husband took the girls to the swimming class. On the way back home my older daughter asked her dad to get me flowers. It was so nice. It seems like kids are copying everything you do, even those small things you're not paying attention to. She used to see her dad getting me flowers in different occasions and now she wanted to do the same. I was proud of her.

When you have great husband and kids what else could you ask for?

Spring break and more!

Spring is finally here! It's really warm and nice these days. It hit 85 degrees yesterday!! I was desperately looking for spring after that LONG winter. We were lucky to have a warm spring break last week. The spring break started on Wednesday. My older daughter went back to school yesterday. It was really nice to have a break, and to have extra sleep in the morning :)

During the spring break, the girls and I had a full schedule. It was a good chance to hang out with our friends. The girls had so much fun with the other kids and I had the chance to sit and chat with my friends. I have been busy for the last couple of months that I barely was able to meet with them, so it was a nice reunion.

On Friday, my husband took a one day vacation, and we all went on a road trip to DC. It's a bout 4 hours away from our place. It was one of the places on my list to visit since we have moved to PA two years ago. One of my favorite things about living here is that we have a variety of options of things to do, and too many close places to visit by car. Before moving to PA, I used to live in AR. I lived there for 6.5 years. Living in AR was like living in the middle of no where! I can't deny that I loved Fayetteville, and that I had great times there. Still, the nearest place to go was 5+ hours by car, and the choices were not that fascinating.

Anyway, we had too much fun in DC. It was so busy though because of the Cherry Blossom Festival. We went early in the morning Friday, spent the night, and came back late Saturday. Here are some pictures from our trip to DC.




Talking about Fayetteville brought some nice memories. One of the things I miss there is the Masjid (Mosque). We used to meet every Friday in the Masjid for a Dars. For me, it was like a girls night out (oh yeah, in the Masjid:)). But it was really one of my favorite things to do every week. After the Dars, we used to have fun talking about different subjects while eating some good food. Also some of the friends I really miss there are my Saudi friends. I got to meet some awesome Saudi ladies who I really enjoyed. I enjoyed everything about them, i.e. the coffee they drink all the time, the gathering in the middle of the night, etc.

I think that's it for now. I have a facial appointment in 15 minutes and I need to get ready!

Take care

A little about me...

Following the tag my friends started, here is a little about me. I'm Palestinian who was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. I have been married for 8.5 years, and I have two beautiful girls (7 and 4 years old). I moved to US with my husband few days after the wedding. My husband and the girls are the best thing happened to me ever.

Right now, I'm working on my PhD in Industrial Engineering. I'm supposed to finish soon, YEAH, I hope soon :) During my spare time, I like to do shopping, try new recipes, redecorate my house, and to hang out with friends.

OK, what else? I like dark chocolate, Mocha, bright colors, and colorful hijabs. I also love shopping, and shopping for makeup, clothes, shoes, and handbags is my favorite :)

I guess that's it. I hope this post helped to get you know more about me.

Take care.

Sinan's perfume!

Hello,

It's 7:45 am. Everyday around this time, and just after Sinan and Lina leave to work/school, I fix my morning coffee, check my email, news, and update my to-do-list for the day before starting my daily work on research. But this morning I felt like writing, I'm not sure why. Maybe because of Sinan's perfume that I smell everywhere in the office right now. It's so nice and fresh. It made me feel good and happy regardless of all the work that is waiting for me today.

I was so glad yesterday for the feedback I got on my cooking post. Thank you all! More recipes on the way, I promise!

That's it for now. I have to start working. Yesterday I spent the whole day working on the code that Sinan and I spent the whole Saturday's afternoon working on it, and guess what, it still doesn't give me any make-sense results :(

Take care!

Our coming trip

We're leaving to Amman this Saturday, inshallah. We will stay there for 3 days and then we'll start our Haj trip. We'll stop by Medina for few days and then go to Mecca. I still can't believe it. I pray everything goes well and that we have a safe trip. I will leave my daughters with their grandparents for 11 days. This is my first time to be away from my children. It's going to be so hard on me and them. I'm trying not to think about it, because I have no other choices. Inshallah Khair.

I have been working on the preparation for this trip for 2 weeks now. I went shopping like a million times and I'm not done yet. I had to buy lots of clothes for the girls. The problem that I totally forgot how the weather looks like in Jordan at this time of the year. I also had to buy some stuff for my brother's wedding. This part was the best. I love the dresses and the accessories I got for the girls and myself :)
I was planning to finish shopping today but I couldn't, which means I will have another shopping trip tomorrow's morning.

I will be busy all day tomorrow. I will be cleaning the house, doing laundry,..., and PACKING. I'm so excited and happy. I'm so concerned and worried at the same time. The girls and Sinan are so excited. We will be having fun at the airport and on airplane. I'm sure that the girls will enjoy every minute.

I guess this post will be my last one until I come back. So, take care and please pray for us. May Allah accept our Haj and grant us an easy and safe trip. Ameen.

Take care!

It's me blogging!!!

This is my first blog! I thought about doing this long time ago but I was not sure if I will be able to keep up with it. I'm busy, REALLY busy all the time but I thought why not, I will give it a try. So here we go :)