Full hands=Full heart

And so it is. School has just begun with only two weeks under our belts, and we have been hit but a flu and a rotten head and chest type cold. Ick. But on the bright side of that it has certainly given us some much appreciated cuddle time. We've also added to the pot, sports galore! Allie is back in softball and she's loving the league. As am I; they are so organized. Kamran is playing baseball with the best coach he ever could have asked for, thank you Marc! Lastly, Jaan is playing soccer. Whew! All of this means practices on two weekdays (two on one day), and one game on Saturday and two games on Sunday! Not to mention, homework for all and tutoring two days a week for Kamran. HOLY MOLY.

Kamran turned eight last weekend. We had a fun filled day together, the afternoon at the park with some friends for pizza and cupcakes. The children had such great fun decorating them, it was almost a shame to eat them. ;) After the park, we packed ourselves up and went to Disneyland. What a great day!

Saj has been traveling quite a bit this past month as well. Loads of fun for him, though we have all been missing him terribly.

Things Change

So, no more home-schooling for us. We put the kids in school last spring to test the waters and it went well. Allie will be in the seventh grade this year, she is very excited. And a little bit nervous as well. Kamran will be in 2nd and Jaan in 1st. Kamran is taking reading at Kumon as well. Everyone is still enjoying Karate and weekend trips to Disneyland. I will have a bit more time to write as soon as school starts next week. Mixed emotions there. I love the time to get things accomplished and yet I miss having the kids around.

We've made some changes around the house recently, but things always seem to go back to the basics. I guess we are who we are. Sometimes we get a bit caught up in making other people happy, which always seems to back fire. So back to our core nutritional values, less meat. In fact we've adopted meatless mondays which has been fantastic. Thursdays are generally picnic night at the beach. And the rest is poultry or fish with a ton of veggies. Fresh fruit and lots of fun.

We found some great finds last Sat. at the farmers market and I'm thrilled with the reviews from the "critics". I've been experimenting with some vegetarian and vegan recipes as well, as a result of meatless mondays. And it's quite nice. Less damage to our bodies and the environment. We're also lowering our sugar intake, which is so key for Saj because of his father's health issues that tend to be hereditary. I've done some searching and found some awesome websites and other blogs that really support where we're at. So great to have allies.

Well, we are soon off to soccer practice and Kumon today before the picnic, which means early food prep. Tonight we are experimenting with fajitas made on the grill at the beach. So, i need to chop the veggies, make guacamole, toss a salad, and marinade some chicken. All before the activities. Whew.

D.E.A.R

Today was National D.E.A.R Day (Drop Everything And Read). I am excited about this one. We are reading a slew of Beverly Cleary books, as today was also Mrs. Cleary's 92nd birthday. Included for us this month: Beezus and Ramona, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, A Girl from Yamhill, and our only non Cleary book, we will finish Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Maybe we should pick up something to help inspire us to be a bit more vigilant as Earth Day is next week.
P.S. On that note, the kids are making bank with their latest recycling project. They are collectively responsible to ensure that all recyclables are taken to the garage, and I take them to the recycling center to cash it all in. It's working out beautifully for us all. LOL.

Our Big Move

So a few months ago, we moved to California, as many of you already know. I know that many were not even aware that we were moving until a truck showed up in the driveway back in Utah.
However, we are finally beginning to feel like we're settling in. Allie has begun taking dance classes (Jazz to be exact) and she loves it already. :D Kamran and Jaan are busy with Karate three days a week and Jaan also is in a soccer camp on Tuesdays-crazy. LOL.
I have been very grateful that we don't have the chaos of transferring schools, as we have merely had to conform to one state law regarding education at home. Which was to become a private school.
Love to all. Talk soon...

Happy Holidays

So, the kids and I have finished our holiday shopping. What fun we've had. And today we have new snow falling, which is great because everything was brown and blah yesterday. If we're going to be freezing our guts out, it may as well be snowy. 
Last night the kids and I finally finished reading Honey Bunch. We re-read What Are You So Grumpy About, and read The Gift of The Magi by O. Henry.
The kids and I discussed New Years Resolutions and will be working on those in the coming weeks, hopefully to be finalized by the 31st. I can't wait to see what the kids come up with. 
Tonight we are planning a trip to Thanksgiving Point to feed Santa's Reindeer and take a carriage ride(hopefully, if it's not too cold) through the park to see the Holiday Lights. 
Last saturday we attended my family's annual Christmas party. The kids all had a blast and as always it's wonderful to catch up with everyone. It's amazing that now matter how near or far we all live, we always seem to lose touch, so it's great to come together, to see the kids and marvel at how they've grown. Well, I'm off to help Allie make her blankets for the children's hospital. Have a safe, happy holiday.

Holidays

We've been so busy with the holidays that I've not posted for some time. 
Thanksgiving was fabulous. We hosted Sajid's older brother Shahid and his family and it was lovely. We ended the evening with our five and celebrated my birthday, which was glorious. We went out to Bountiful to my parents home for some leftovers and pies the next day.
 Christmas of corse is now fast approaching, a few more gifts and lots more baking. Today Kamran and Allie built our gingerbread house and gingerbread train (from kits). Last night Allie babysat some little ones at our house and they all decorated gingerbread men, and she helped them write letters to santa, that was really fun. The kids also want to make rice krispy trees and cookies. They love to bake as much as I do. 
It's getting late and I need to make sure everyone has fallen asleep.
Happy Holidays!

Home Sweet Home

Our trip to New York & Canada was wonderful. First off, the purpose of the trip was Sajid's brother's wedding. Arslan and Patricia were married "Canadian Style" on Saturday the 24th of October. It was beautiful and Allie got to be a Junior Bridesmaid and, naturally, she love every minute of it. And I have to say, my baby girl is growing up. She was gorgeous, absolutely stunning. Although, it was freezing. Holy Cow was it ever cold up there. LOL

We flew in & out of Buffalo, NY. We spent the first night in Niagara Falls, Canada. From there we drove through portions of upstate NY, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to reach New York City. I don't think we could have chosen a better time to see the country side. We spent the next three days seeing the sights of the big apple. Saj and I agreed that our top priority would be to see the Statue of Liberty and "ground zero". The kids were definitely amazed by it all. Jaan had expressed that he was concerned that the Statue of Liberty might have a mustache and that would be "wierd". I assured him that she did not have a mustache, at which point he pointed out that the statue was a man. I said no honey it's a girl, that's why they call her Lady Liberty. He told me (very matter of fact like) "Mom, that would be his wife." Much to his surprise she is a girl.

Even though the boys had yet to be born at the time of the 9/11 attacks, they are aware that something had happened. So, seeing the location in person really brought it into perspective. Seeing the destruction that is still so evident was heart breaking, even for the children. We were able to buy some photo books that are impact full.

Allie and I spent some time at the American Girl store and we took the kids to the Magnolia Bakery. Okay maybe that was just as much for us as it was for them. :-)

We spent an afternoon in Central Park as well.

So that about sums up the trip. We've just been working on settling back in to "regular" life.

Saj is off in California, doing what he does. And the kids and I have settled back into a school routine.

Adam's Adventures

Well, our week with Adam is coming to a close. It has been fun to have a little one around, but I must admit that I'd forgotten how much chasing they require. We've spent time in the canyons, gone to the library, strolled around the neighborhood, and went to Thanksgiving Point. Allie is going to choose the photos from the week to share with everyone.

Yesterday was spent at Thanksgiving Point. They are celebrating Halloween with some fun activities for the kids. We chose to spend the day in Farm Country at their Barnyard Boo festival. Allie and Jaan chose to have their faces painted, Kamran opted out and Adam was scared of the paintbrush, so he ended up with an orange smudge on his forhead instead of a pumpkin. The kids all decorated a cookie, fed llamas, laughed at the chickens. We attempted a pony ride but Adam leapt from the saddle into Allie's arms and looked a little put out that we had sat him on the beast. We were caught in the path of the milking cow, that Adam thought was hilarious. Probably because it took me and Allie by complete surprise and had us squealing and giggling.

Highlights of the day would probably be

• Adam: the calf, he giggled at it and it was the only animal he was interested in petting.
• Jaan: the pony rides as Allie let him ride the tallest pony.
• Kamran: Feeding the llamas, he loves that everytime.
• Allie: Being chased by the milking cow. Followed by a close second; getting her face painted.

We have had a good time with Baby Adam. Thanks to Patricia and Arslan for entrusting us with your most precious commodity.

YEA! Allie came home tonight. Sometimes the weekend seems soooo long. Today Saj and I took the kids up Little Cottonwood Canyon and went for a little trail walking. We couldn't believe it, there was snow already. Afterward we did a little shopping and came home for a nice Sunday dinner. Thankfully everyone, except for Jaany, is asleep right now. Jaany has been having a hard time sleeping lately and goes to bed a little later than I'd like. Around 9:00, after a bowl of cereal. Strange routine, I've not gone through this with the other two. Each one their own special person =-)

I'll post pics of the canyon tomorrow. Good night.

This week we will be taking care of our nephew, Adam, who is one and a half. We have a few fun things planned for the week. Allie is not at home this weekend, but, the boys and I thought it would be fun to take Adam to the library. Fortunately, we have a great children's section in our local library. The boys all played with the puppets in the puppet theatre after everyone had chosen a video off the video wall. As can be predicted, we came home with one Thomas dvd and one Scooby Doo dvd. Surprisingly however, no Tom & Jerry-LOL. We've had lunch, read stories, and played as well today. We hope mom & dad have a great time in Hawaii. Aloha.

It's been a looong time

Well, no I've not fallen off the face of the earth. But we have been very busy. Bustling about home. We haven't been traveling as much with Saj lately. But we have managed to stay very busy. The kids have begun a bit of a more formal routine with school. Which is going very well. Kamran is working on first grade math and trying to read. Jaan will begin working on Kindergarten math and phonics in September, which is right around the corner. Allie is doing well with sixth grade studies. We are working on Human Bodies in science. And will be traveling through time in history, beginning with the formation of Earth and the Big Bang Theory. Our artist of choice for August was Jackson Pollock and the kids will be working on a miniature painting of their own inspired by Pollock.

Fall sports have also begun. Allie has once again chosen to play fastpitch softball, she is really showing improvement this season. Her love for the game is evident. Kamran has elected to try his hand at tennis. He is doing very well. Jaany has chosen soccer this season and his games will start next weekend. He can hardly wait. Have a great Wednesday.

I don't know why I keep posting these backwards with the photos first and the text afterward.

Eventually I'll figure out what the hell I'm doing. Until then you're just going to have to take me as I am. :D

Enjoying fruit & yogurt The Popsicle Possey
More fun at "Dairy Days"




Enjoying fresh made butter...yummy







Love is in the air. SWAK

Making friends with the goats

Kamran's last baseball game

"lollipop eyes"
Me & my guys California Adventure Park Parade

Boys in the "Hoods"