Ag Day as 4-Hers
July 23, 2009 at 1:49 am | In 4-H, Animals, Desert life, Kids, New Mexico | 1 Comment
the walk to the school grounds
I had signed whoever was interested in helping set up for Ag Day at the nearby elementary school, which was N and S. I had emailed E about it, asking her what time the girls should be there but she never replied, so even though I marked my calendar, I pretty much forgot about it.
On that day, we received H and M as usual, as their mother dropped them off around 8:30 a.m. for Iqra lessons with me. The Ag Day supposedly starts at 8 a.m. and if my girls were to help set up, they should probably have been there around 8. But it was not until 9 am that I suddenly remembered, and in a flurry of short bursts of,
“Hurry! You’re late!”
“Just go tell E she didn’t reply to my email!”
“Hurry! Get ready!”
“Just go!”
Since the school grounds is just across the arroyo from our backyard, H went out and came back inside exclaiming,
“I hear goats!”
“Ha! goats! Go!” I said.
So S and N dressed and walked to the school grounds, while the rest of us stayed finishing up the lessons.
“Let’s go, you all want to go?” I asked the kids. I still had four kids in the house (two of them were not mine).
Of course they wanted to go. So we went. It was the first time I walked to the school grounds, and oh my, what beautiful views I laid eyes on. The mountains far off in the distance. The streets lined with beautiful houses. It reminded me a lot of Damansara and Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur.
When we got there, the girls were with a group of adults and kids presenting their animals to the elementary kids enrolled in summer school. Ag Day, as i found out was designed as part of the extension office’s educational programs to the public. As the older and more seasoned 4-Hers introduced themselves and their respective animals they had brought to show, I witnessed my own child doing the same, with ease, even though she had no animal to show.
I stood behind them, and watched my firstborn introduce herself to the bunch of kids crowded around them. Well, well!
When I told them to go and hurry and get ready earlier, they were not too enthusiastic. Yet again, ‘Just listen to your mother’ proved true. They loved it.
“So what did you do when you got there?”
“We helped gave out the treat bags to the kids,” said N.
As there were excess, H, M, H, and Baby Z got treat bags too. Baby Z got to pet the duck, the rabbit, which I practically fell in love with such that I said to the kids,
“If we’re getting a pet, it will be a rabbit!”
the donkey named Spur, and the horse named Jesse.
We stayed at the playground for a bit while the kids enjoyed themselves on the swing. I was utterly captivated by the many hummingbirds buzzing past us. I tried to snap some pictures, but they were too quick. Subhanallah!
If I have to say one thing about living in New Mexico, it’s that it really brings you very close to Allah’s creations in a way you don’t get to in a city. Alhamdulillah!
A Desert Hike
June 15, 2009 at 6:55 pm | In Animals, Desert life, Family, New Mexico | Leave a Comment
walking down the arroyo
I never thought I was crazy or adventurous enough to actually do this, but I guess my curiosity overcame everything. I had offered,
“If anybody is staying in the van, I am,”
when hubby said,
“I’ll stay in the van,”
because Baby Z was fast asleep when we got to Baylor’s Pass, the base of the Organ mountains, for the group desert hike with the naturalist of the Natural History Museum as part of the 4 week Scaly Slimy program.
He then decided to carry sleeping Baby Z on the hike, so I blew my chance of staying safely in the van, out of reach of possible rattling rattlesnakes.
The Organ Mountains
The view of the Organ Mountains up close was truly breathtaking though. I couldn’t help but look at them, discerning my favorite peaks (as I call them) from the others. I’m not a camper, but I can’t lie and say I didn’t think about hiking up that mountain, just to see what is up there and how it feels like. As I brought my gaze back down, I was reminded of the notorious rattlesnakes, and I was brought back down to earth.
If it was Europe, maybe I will. But here, in the desert? No way!
Despite the sun bearing down on us directly, with very minimal clouds barring the rays, it was pleasantly breezy. Countless times I wished we were in Europe, where it was greener, and there is probably no rattlesnakes around.
I wore my ’sport skirt’ and throughout the hike, I came to realize that the desert is really not a place for long sweeping skirts. My skirt became a broom that collected goat heads and other stickler plants. Nevertheless, in my fear of being left behind throughout the hike, I made sure I stayed close to hubby, who of course had long strides, but I doubled my pace to catch up. My utmost fear was stepping on a rattlesnake. All the while, my mind kept conjuring snakes under my feet, and it took quite a lot for me to hold my ‘possible screams’ in check.
The slightest move to the right or left sent me into a swirl of panic, and I kept reciting the dua, all the while also, thinking how crazy I was to embark on such an adventure in the first place.
“Rattlesnake!”
The kids, all three of them, we immediate followers of Ch, the Museum naturalist leading the hike. Before we started the hike, Ch had give us all a run down, and among the things he said to us was,
“If you see a snake, any snake, stay still, or back away very slowly, and shout for me, try to get my attention, and I will take care of it.”
Add his apparent enthusiasm for actually hoping to find snakes, and that really gave me second thoughts about going on the hike altogether. I ekpt thinking ambulance, ER, and so my dua recitation was very fervent and continuous.
We closely followed his path, and since he had shouted ‘Rattlesnake!’ up ahead, I was rest assured that the path we were hiking through to get to where he was (and the kids were already there with him) had no rattlesnakes. Up till then, I have never heard the rattling of rattlesnakes, save for a recording of it at the museum.
As we approached Ch and the kids, who were already gathered around the rattling snake, I heard the rattle. It was clear. You can’t not hear it. Alhamdulillah for that. Though, as we hiked on further later on, I asked Ch,
“Do they rattle necessarily?”
“Well, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.”
The latter alarmed me. At least, if they rattle, we would be duly warned.
I saw my first real live not-behind-glass rattlesnake that day. It was a young rattlesnake, a western diamondback rattlesnake, which blended so well in the desert ground, that were it to not rattle, you’d be in a lot of trouble. The snake was coiled, head up, and tail up, rattling away at us. The kids let out their oohs and aahs, and we adults looked on with equal interest. At one point, Ch tried to pick up the snake with his snake stick,
but unfortunately the snake slithered off and headed towards us. H was right in front of me, and while the rest of us backed away in alarm, H stood still, as if frozen. We called out to him, and even had to nudge him to make him move. I don’t know if he was frozen out of fear or he was just trying to be macho. I’m thinking it’s the latter.
Hubby remarked,
“The snake moved pretty quickly.”
and my train of thought continued,
Too quick for comfort!
That was our first animal encounter. Sounds like a Jeff Corwin right there. We continued hiking, and to my horror, we actually hiked down an arroyo, where lizards and rattlesnakes are known to reside, or at least I thought so. I wasn’t too comfortable doing it, but since everybody was doing it, I didn’t want to be the only one walking on unchartered grounds, so I hiked down the arroyo too.
Beautiful desert flowers greeted me, and I couldn’t help but stop and get my camera out, even if that meant I would be left behind a bit. After trekking ’safely’, my sense of fear somewhat decreased. As I remember it (this was a while ago, in April), our second encounter was upon a horned lizard, which hubby actually spotted. 
I was closely following his long strides, when he suddenly stopped and pointed to something on our right. He shouted out to get Ch’s attention, and when Ch realized that we found something, he bounded over as quickly as he could. I was not too happy about it. Having someone way ahead of me chancing upon a live desert animal was something, and chancing upon a desert animal oneself is something else. I could feel a scream making its way up my throat.
It wasn’t a snake though, alhamdulillah, but it looked quite menacing to me nonetheless. It was pretty still, that is until Ch got to it and attempted to grab it. As quick as a dart, it whizzed past me, forcing a somewhat controlled scream from me, as I sought shelter with hubby who was carrying Baby Z. Amazingly, Ch caught it with his bare hands.
Kids petting the Horned Lizard
It was a horned lizard. And after Ch explained about it to us, and had the kids pet it, it didn’t look quite as menacing as it did before. It actually looked cute.
We spotted a few more lizards, but Ch only managed to catch one of them, which had a very beautiful bluish stripe on its belly.
By this time,I was feeling less cautious about walking through the desert, tall yellowish desert grass blowing in the wind, possible sheltering desert animals. I was even enjoying the hike down the arroyo, and I couldn’t help but imagine it filled with water. I have to say that I really miss the green of the Midwest and east coast. It amazed me to see the river bed as dry as a bone, yet it filled me with wonder each time to see them, and I couldn’t help but imagine them in their ‘most recognized’ form; filled with flowing water.
I think the kids really enjoyed the hike. It’s not something I would have done with the kids on my own, seeing as I’m not much of an animal person, nor am I that adventurous. Maybe when I was younger, but as I noticed, the older you get, and the more horrific news you read, the more cautious and sometimes unnecessarily fearful you are.
Well, at least for me. As I looked towards the Organ Mountains, I wondered about it. The warning sign that was placed a little bit away from the entrance clearly has a disclaimer that says there have been cases where people have died climbing the mountain. To my amusement, it also says, “Leave the rattlesnakes alone and they won’t harm you.” I find that a little hard to swallow though. I keep thinking of accidental incidents.
Warning Sign
I also had a little trouble comprehending Ch’s enthusiasm and excitement over finding snakes on the hike. He had said,
“The last trip we had, we only found one snake. “
I’d rather find no snake, but yes, I also can understand it from an animal person’s point of view, thanks to my animal-loving children. A little boy found our second snake on the hike, and this time, it wasn’t a rattlesnake, but a Sonoran Gopher Snake. This one, Ch actually picked up and put around his neck. While looking on, (from a safe distance) I pondered over how beautiful the snake was, and I also remembered thinking to myself,
It must not be dangerous then, if he puts it around his neck like that. Wow! A wild snake, pet and touched like a snake in captivity!
Later on, Ch did remark that,
“For a wild snake, he’s pretty calm.”
That explained it.
The kids gathered around him in awe and pet the snake, my three children included in that petting lot. When it was time to let the snake go, Ch gave the honor to the boy who found it. Joyfully, the boy carried the long snake over to a bush, and placed it gently down on the ground. We all looked on as it slithered and disappeared inside the bush. It was a hallmark moment, but really, I would rather not chance upon any snakes. Thank you very much!
All in all, it was a pretty interesting hike. I’m glad I got out of the van and battled my fears. Most of all though, I’m glad I was able to give the kids such an opportunity to enrich their life experiences. Alhamdulillah.
Hold Your Horses!
April 25, 2009 at 1:58 pm | In Animals, Desert life, Family, Homeschooling, Kids, New Mexico | 5 Comments
The Carsley Horse Ranch viewed from Baby Z's window
S and her love of horses has sent us into some adventures in being face to face with real live horses. In Columbus, we enrolled her in a riding class that went on for 10 weeks.
Before the move, I had looked into horseback riding lessons in this town. What I found was very interesting and comforting. New Mexico
Goats
is mostly desert, and apparently, a lot of people have ranches here. I stumbled upon one particular horse ranch that actually welcomes anyone with a love for horses. A child can help with horses and earn a free ride.
So, I got to calling the ranch, and before we knew it, we were driving towards the horse ranch, on a stretch of dirt road, which scared me to no end, because the van has been acting up lately.
Beautiful mountain backdrop
Days prior to that day, I had called the ranch and we were told to come at 3:30 p.m. S actually had a countdown to the day when she would be wtih her beloved horses. On D day, she was quite chirpy, was extra helpful, suddenly knew how to tell time, and was very punctual.
The 'watchdog' on a chain. He was quite gentle and docile. Didn't hear a woof out of him.
“S, copy down the directions to the place. I’m gonna go shower,” I told her after looking up the map on Google.
In my haste, I had forgotten to get directions for coming back from the ranch. The drive to the ranch was through the interstate highway, for about 15 minutes. The direction was pretty clear, but the road names had us in some patch of trouble as I took a wrong turn. I never expected to go on a dirt road, and all the while we jostled about in the van, I thought to myself,
If we suddenly got stuck here, we’d actually be in the desert. Rattlesnakes, no cell phone, ya Allah, please help us.
I had thought it was a mule or a donkey, but S said it was a burro. To be honest, I didn't even know how to spell it. S told me. Go figure.
Alhamdulillah we reached the ranch safe and sound. We spent about 2 hours at the ranch, during which S groomed and brushed three horses, rode a white pregnant one, and the rest of us waited and looked at the other animals on the ranch. It didn’t smell too nice, understandably, and I didn’t let Baby Z walk at all, for fear of him stepping on horse poop. When I first got there, there was another mother who was waiting for the instructor to get the horse ready for her son’s riding lesson.
“She’s really good,” she said.
The instructor had just passed by us with a horse. I nodded, wondering who she was referring to, the lady, or the horse. She probably sensed my confusion and added,
“The instructor.”
“I’m usually harsh on people who don’t treat my son well, but with her, I’ve had no problems.”
Ahh…I get it.
Baby Z was sleeping in the van when we got there, and the weather was pretty cool and breezy, even though the desert made it look very hot. Well, the sun was beating down on us, but the breeze took the sting of the heat away. Backed by the mountains, it was a really nice vantage point, where we parked the van. I had brought with me a book on homeschooling.
While waiting for S, I did some reading in the van, but because Baby Z then woke up, I had to tend to him. So we walked around the ranch, looking at the animals. By then, S was covered with horse hair, and I started thinking of how much of a hassle this would be.
I didn’t expect to spend so much time there, but we ended up staying there for about two hours. Baby Z got to pet a horse (surprising since he coiled back when we tried to get him to pet one in Columbus). I think he probably overcame his innate fear of animals, after seeing his siblings being on friendly terms with animals.
The pony S groomed
It was breezy despite the hot sun. Awesome backdrop despite the 'farm' stench.
By the time S was done, it was running kind of late, because I had to cook rice before hubby came home. Alhamdulillah there was another route I could take to go back home. It’s interesting how in Columbus, I would have never ventured out on my own to places I’ve never been to, but here, I feel absolutely comfortable venturing out, despite the nature of the street names changing from one end to the next. The drive home was about 15 minutes, but alhamdulillah for Anwar Awlaki’s audio lecture ‘Stories from Hadeeth’. Alhamdulillah for the audio CDs we have. Long, or even short drives in the van are opportunities for listening to the lectures, not just for me, but for the kids as well.
It’s Spring Break!
March 29, 2009 at 1:15 am | In 4-H, Al Huda Institute, Animals, Desert life, Family, Gardening, Homeschooling, Mothering, New Mexico | Leave a CommentSpring Break. School holidays don’t usually mean much to us, because since we’re homeschooling, we go by our own ‘holidays’ which are basically the two Eids and some part of Ramadan. This week is Spring Break week. For the first time, I’m getting blasted with it as never before. For some reason, it actually means something to us, because our backyard is right across an elementary school. We can hear the bell, some announcements, and we can hear the shrieks, laughter and shouts of the kids at recess time. Since it’s Spring Break, it’s pretty quiet and you don’t hear the ding, dong and beep of the school anymore.
Plus, because it’s Spring Break, there are more programs available in the Museums in town for kids. We already missed the Boke Rodeo because I had failed to pre register them in a timely manner, but alhamdulillah today, the kids got to attend the Animal Encounter, held every fourth Saturday at the Museum of Natural History of Las Cruces, which is in the Mesilla Valley Mall, which is about 5 minutes drive away from our house. The animal on show to day was a colored lizard. All the kids touched it except H. Even Baby Z, to my surprise, touched it. I had thought that he wouldn’t touch it because he was afraid to touch the horse back in Columbus before, but I guess he has learned not to be fearful of touching animals, which is both a good and bad thing.
I also signed the kids up for the 4-H program. What I learned about it:
1. It requires high family involvement.
2. Parents are often disillusioned and think that it’s a drop and and pick up program. No, parents become project leaders in some cases.
3. It can be overwhelming especially because the parents are required to be highly involved.
It put me off a bit when I heard all the above, because obviously, I don’t need more things on my already full plate. But I thought to myself,
Put the kids first.
So I did. I envision myself running and driving around town for this, and actually actively participating in the meeting, maybe even volunteering to be a project leader at some point (though I would try to avoid this at all costs, considering I’m already teaching Sunday school, which in itself is a lot of work, believe it or not). What I like about 4-H is its focus on attaining leadership skills. So, ok, I’ll run around town if I need to. What else am I home for anyway?
However, since it can be overwhelming, the club leader I talked to suggested, highly recommended that the kids take the Welcome to 4-H project instead of branching off into their own projects in the first year. In the club, there are no other kids doing the projects my kids are interested in doing, so that essentially means that I, moi, ana, will be the one helping the kids in their individual projects, from beginning to end. No way! My plate will break under that weight. So, I agreed. S and N were willing enough to nod, but surprisingly, H refused.
Let’s just say that we went through a ‘Think about it’ then ‘You have to take this’ then You’re taking this’ process, In the end I used my veto power. I felt bad, but I think it had to be done. I’m going to be driving N and S around anyway, and H will be dragged along. It only makes sense that he’s in it too. The reason he refused was due to the leadership skills requirement. Because it was him, I went off and told him that if he wants to rattle off, it should be directed to a more beneficial outlet. In short, now all the kids are in 4-H. We’ll see how it goes inshaallah.
Today, at the Natural History Museum, I signed them all up for a 4 week program called Scaly Slimy, in which they will explore the lives of toads, snakes, and lizards. The fourth week, they will go on a field trip to the desert, the Chihuahuan Desert, to look for those desert animals. Yippes! I’m not too thrilled about these reptiles, but when you homeschool, you can’t be a scaredy cat. You have to go out there with your kids to explore the world. So yay snakes. I already saw a real life rattlesnake, well three of them to be precise, today at the museum. I hope I never ever see them anywhere outside those tanks/terrariums.
We went furniture shopping this morning and bought our living room set. We decided to only buy the living room set(couch, loveseat, and chair, no end tables or coffee table) brand new, and buy the rest used. We can wait until the semester ends and moving sales abound. Inshaallah. I also managed to get myself two chilli seedlings, which I have already transplanted into two big pots we bought last night. I am still without bird’s eyes chillies though. And I have yet to start planting lemongrass and other herbs I always use.
We also bought a waffle maker that was on sale, and so far, I have had fresh waffles made by S for more than one morning, alhamdulillah! I have a lot more work to do regarding the house, but I’ll take it bit by bit, as I alhamdulillah just completed and submitted my AlHuda Ramadan Course assignments this afternoon, before going to the mall. Now, all that is left for me to do is…everything else. Yay. I’m looking forward to my Spring Break.
4-H, Carlsbad Caverns
March 23, 2009 at 6:10 pm | In 4-H, Al Huda Institute, Animals, Community, Desert life, Family, Homeschooling, New Mexico, Travel | Leave a CommentI had looked this up when we were in Columbus, but for some reason I wasn’t moved to enroll the kids in it. Here, hubby’s job deals indirectly with it, since he’s in extension, and 4-Hs around the country is part of the extension program, or at least handled somewhat by the extension. So huby was the one who brought it up.
Meanwhile, I had fished out potential programs, classes the kids could enroll in around here, and there seems to be an abundance of classes and programs, mashaallah! Alhamdulillah. I spent one whole morning filling out our google calendar with homeschooling activities and events. The Museum of Natural History is right in the mall which is about just a few minutes away from our house. There are lots of museums here that offer classes for kids and adults alike, mashaallah.
One thing I noticed here is that astronomy is a big thing. And I can see why. The skies are usually very clear. That is one thing I love about it here. You can see the moon, the stars, the planets and of course feel the sun because of the clear skies.
Desert animals. We were just enlightened by our new friends here about some desert animals that make their appearance in summer. Rattlesnakes is one of them. Tarantulas too. It is getting hot now, and it’s not even summer yet. Subhanallah.
Alhamdulillah though, our living room is all tidied up because we have bought bookcases. So now our books are not sitting on the living room floor anymore. The sunroom houses the kids’ books on our old white shelves and the living room houses my books on our 3 new 5 shelf bookcases.
Hubby had filled out the 4-H enrollment forms, and last night, the kids and I explored the available projects 4-H program offers. Even I went ga ga over the projects.
S wants to do the Horse Science I. N couldn’t make up her mind as to which one she wants because she’s interested in multiple projects, namely the Cat I: Purr-fect Pals, Ceramics, New Mexico Flavor, Baking I, Entomology Unit I, Ice Cream, and Wood & Tools I . As for H, his interest lies in Wood and Tools I, Basic Model Rocketry Unit I, and General Shooting Sports.
I have yet to speak to a county agent, as I have some questions about the program, that wasn’t addressed on the website. As of now I’m waiting for the agent to get back to me after the call I made this morning.
H and N are supposed to enroll in a class, Bike Rodeo, offered by the Las Cruces Railroad Museum tomorrow, but I failed to pre register them earlier and when I called this morning, they said that if I can get 3 kids, then they can add them on, but as of yet, I can’t find one more kid to enroll. S is too old for that particular class. H really wants to take this class, but alas..qadr Allah.
I have yet to get really up to date and organized with things. I have been playing catch up with my missed AlHuda classes, preparing for the Sunday school (which turned out quite ok for an experiment, alhamdulillah) and settling down in the house. The Sunday school class didn’t turn out as how I had planned, alhamdulillah ‘ala kulli haal. I managed to do letter pronunciation, after which I had one group do the diagram of heavy and light letters while I sit with another group and check their reading and recitation. I lost track of time and we didn’t get to do the tafseer after all. I had prepared to do tafseer from Tafseer Ibn Kathir for Surah al Haqqah ayat 1-12, and it has benefited me a lot alhamdulillah. Though of course with the Quran, you still feel like it’s not enough. It would be much much nicer if you can get a scholar right in front of you teaching you tafseer, as there is a lot to tafseer, as I also realized from my AlHuda classes so far. Even one word can give you many dimensions to ponder and reflect on subhanallah.
I may do istikharah on teaching tafseer, as I had received a warning about teaching it, alhamdulillah. May Allah guide me and all of us to the straight path. Ameen. Since it’s spring break, there will be no Sunday school next weekend, alhamdulillah.
Last night, our van broke down and hubby and H was sent back home by a brother. So we are now without transportation, alhamdulillah ‘ala kulli haal. EVen if I were to get a third child to enroll in the Bike Rodeo class, I most probably won’t be able to drive them to the class if the van is not fixed up by tonight.
Hubby told me that we are invited to go to Carlsbad Caverns by some brothers and one other family this coming Wednesday. Since I have Taleem Quran class and group conference call, I think I will pass and the kids can just go with hubby, except for Baby Z. I was about to email the class coordinator informing her I would be going out of town on Wednesday thus missingthe class, but I am already behind in the classes I have missed due to the move. I don’t think I can afford to miss more classes, and on top of that, miss the group conference call. More cathing will just ensue and I just want to get over with catching up as soon as possible.
Just a while ago, we looked at the efieldtrip, in which we learned about some formation in the cave, alhamdulillah. Hubby said he is able to get the day off, and will inshaallah go with the kids to Carlsbad Cavern. I told the kids to take pictures. One thing about travelling in New Mexico that we found out last night, is that it’s advisable to bring your passports along. Something about police checking up on people to make sure they’re not illegals. You do learn something new everyday. Subhanallah.
I wish I can go, but maybe inshaallah another time. I’m not too attracted to the idea of descending 750 feet underground anyway, but I would like to go either way. Regardless, the trip is more for the kids, so, alhamdulillah.
Hayaa – The Modest Kitten
November 24, 2008 at 3:50 am | In Allergies, Animals, Family, Kids | 3 Comments
I owe this kitty a post too. It happened a few days before Eid Al Fitr. In anticipation of Lailatul Qadr, I told the kids to go out and look at the rising sun almost every morning.
It was on that day that we also stumbled across our little friend, who hailed us from quite a thick bramble by the White House, which by the way, can be aptly called, ‘The Cats’ Lair’, as the kids reported that there are a lot of cats coming out from the hole of the base of the building. We were about to walk home when we heard a shrill meow from the bush we had passed by. The meow sounded desperate and fearful, that even I turned back. When we came near the bush, the meowing seemed to abate, but when we moved away, it increased in intensity and panic. So, we lingered behind to check it out.
We peered from underneath it, and couldn’t really get a good view of anything. It looked to me like the forest in Harry Potter, dark, frightening, and intimidating. For a while, the kids checked the bush out, even Baby Z, whose curiosity was piqued by the constant shrill meowing.
After quite some time, the kids saw the kitten, who was somewhat stuck in one part of the many small branches within the bush. She moved, but she seemed to still be stuck, not being able to find her way out into the open. The kids couldn’t even get to her, because the bush, is not a small one. The moment I laid eyes on it, I fell in love. I know it sounds cliche, but bear with me.
So I helped and encouraged the kids to ‘rescue’ it, not doing anything myself other than squat and trying to take a look at it from the scraggly network of twisty branches. As expected, the kids finally got it, and my love for it increased. To make a long story short, I allowed them to bring it home with us.
For days, it stayed in our kitchen, though tied with a yarn to the kitchen door knob, because I was afraid it would run into the rest of the house. At this point, we still didn’t know if Baby Z was allergic to cats, and I still don’t know. At the time, we were busy preparing for Eid too, and I didn’t want to take any chances of allergic reactions.
The kids played with it, dressed it up, fed it, made a bed for it, and even Baby Z was mesmerized by it. I have to admit, it was rather fun having another lil one in the house, because I found myself going,
“Awww….it’s sleeping. Shh! Be quiet. It needs its nap.”
Once a mother, always a mother, I guess. Right moms?
However, we had to get rid of it, and hubby told the kids to return it to the White House where it would reunite with its family. 
So they returned it with heavy hearts, and weeks later, the kids said that they saw it with pus in its eyes. They also found and brought home its sibling, another cute little kitty, but of course, we didn’t keep it. I had enough trouble with a multiply allergic tot. I don’t need a cat to add to the mayhem.
But, this particular kitty, we had named Hayaa. The kids were holding and cuddling it by our front door, and S happened to remark,
“It’s so modest. Look at how it’s sitting.”
And immediately, its name became Hayaa’. And S even dedicated, or rather, addressed a letter to her for one of her writing assignments.
Both my parents have a cat as a pet, and I bet my kids will be thrilled if and when we go back to Malaysia, to have this in their grandparents’ houses.
I”m not really a cat person. Not that I don’t like them, but I’m just not an animal person period. And I can see that Baby Z takes after me. When I was petting S’s horse on her last day, he backed away when we offered him to pet the horse. I knew then that he takes after me in that inner fear of a living thing that is not human. Nevertheless, I think I can make Hayaa an exception. She is cute. Though, I’m still not willing to deal with cat hair, messy kids, and an allergic toddler all in one house.
Sassy, Calliope, then Aboo
July 25, 2008 at 3:27 pm | In Animals, Kids, Mothering | 1 CommentTuesday is turning out to be a tiring day for me as I have to drive S out to Dublin for her horse-riding lesson. MIl was sick this past Tuesday, probably from all the hard core outings she has been doing with the kids plus all the housework she insists on doing, so I took Baby Z with me. H tagged along, and N stayed home to take care of Jedda.
“But she won’t let us,” she responded when I told her to take care of her grandmother and bring her water and such.
“That’s ok, just tell her you want to do it.”
One thing about their Jedda that I also see in hubby is the tendency to refuse help and do everything herself, because they do not want to trouble other people.
S had told me that she was the one who asked G when she could trot (when she did the lunge with Calliope last week), because she had been walking Sassy all this while, and she wanted a faster pace on the horse.
“Oh, how did you know to ask for a trot?”
Can you tell? I’m completely an ignoramus when it comes to horse-riding jargon. Gallop, I know, but walking, trotting, cantering, these are all new to me.
“I know,” she replied, with a hint of indignance in her voice.
On Tuesday, when they went out to the riding yard (I don’t know what else to cal it), S was on a brown horse, and L (the other girl) was on Calliope. I guess Calliope was too stubborn for S last week that she had decided to ride the other one this time. I could see it was a male horse. Despite my ignorance, I can tell, by mere observation, that it is a male horse. I have sons. I know.
The horse is chestnut brown, with long black mane and tail. Very handsome. S had said Calliope was stubborn, but to me, as I was looking on, it appeared that this brown male horse was even more stubborn. He would stop and look down at his legs when he was supposed to be walking. G had to issue her sound signals several times to both Calliope and this brown horse. Maybe they missed Sassy. Subhanallah, her presence is surely missed.
Nevertheless, as H toyed around with the instruments in the van, while Baby Z switched between being carried outside and playing in the driver’s seat in the van, S soon trotted on the horse. Not even a rope this time. She was truly trotting. I was ecstatic. No, I did not wish I was on that horse. I was content to stand on firm ground and watch my horse-struck daughter trot around the riding yard.
I had intended to study for the Seerah exam in the van, while Baby Z napped, but of course, Baby Z the toddling prince, again decided to throw me a curve ball. While driving to the stables, we were listening to Yassir Fazaqa’s ‘Mom, Dad, I’m in Love!’, recorded from last year’s Texas Dawah Conference we went to, and at some point, I was laughing out loud. From behind my seat, came a high pitched squeal and giggle. Ahh…the babe was not sound asleep. Just my day.
On the way home, I asked S the name of the brown horse.
“Aboo, but spelled A. B. O. O.”
“Abu?”
I chuckled.
“Well, I guess it looks Arab, huh?”
Well, tiring as it may be, Tuesdays do give me a breath of fresh air and some food for my writing endeavors.
A Surprise for Jedda II – Inna Lillaahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raaji’oon
July 16, 2008 at 4:12 pm | In Animals, Family, Mothering | 2 CommentsWe arrived at the stables a little early, despite running late. S rushed to the stables. I stayed in the van, and MIL went out and stood by the van, enjoying the morning air.
S ran back to me and said,
“No one’s there. Sassy’s not there, and G is not there either.”
“Hmm…did G tell you last week that there’s not gonna be any class this week?”
“No. But even Sassy’s not there.”
“Maybe they took her out on the fields.”
After quite some time, G, the stables operator, came out of her house and walked towards us, but as I remained in the van (on hindsight, I should have at least opened the window!), she approached MIL and talked to her. As my window remained closed, I couldn’t hear a single thing, but she looked so serious that I went out.
As I did, MIL gestured to me and told me that Sassy had died the night before from a virus.
“I don’t know if I should tell her or you should,” said G.
“I’ll tell her,” I said, aghast at the news.
I myself, was shocked at the news, and thinking of S, my heart felt heavy. Sam the Opossum’s death came back to me, and I remembered how grieved S was, though she didn’t break down and cry.
I walked to the stables, and looked for her. She was petting the other horses and waiting by Sassy’s stall.
I called her and she came to me, running.
“S, Sassy died. Last night.”
Her expression was one of shock. Mouth agape, she gasped,
“What?!”
I have to say, it tore my heart that the horse S loved so much had died. I stood by the barn gate for quite some time, watching S groom another horse named Calliope, a white horse with brown patches. Quite beautiful. Sassy was a white horse with dappled grey spots. While S was riding Calliope, MIL kept saying out,
“Oh this looks much nicer!”
I doubt that eased the grief, but S rode Calliope that whole morning. While I sat in the van, avoiding the dogs, and reading my book Healthy Teens, Body and Soul: A Parent’s Complete Guide, MIL sat outside under the tree, and the kids ran around investigating the pear tree, playing with the Indigo (the chihuahua) and Daisy (the basset hound) while avoiding the bloodhound at all costs. I happened to look up at S when I saw Calliope trotting. All this while, S had only been walking Sassy, but that day, Calliope was trotting in a circle while G held a rope attached to Calliope’s reins. S was practically trotting in a circle around G, and she looked pretty happy.
On the way home, in the van, I asked her a lot of questions, which also made me realize that she really truly knows her horses and the terms associated with horse-riding.
“S, what was it that you did with Calliope just now?”
“A lunge.”
“I thought it was a trot?”
“It’s a lunge because G was holding the rope.”
“Oh, you mean if she let you go, that move would be a trot?”
“Yeah.”
“How did it feel?”
“I was bouncing.”
“You weren’t supposed to?”
“No.”
“So what were you supposed to do?”
“Press down on my heels, and relax my hips.”
“So do you know all about this before?”
“Yeah.”
“You mean, you know about the lunge and the trot even before this?”
“Yeah.”
“From books?”
“Yeah.”
“The Pony Series?”
“It’s the Pony Pals.”
“From non fiction too?”
“From non fiction and fiction.”
“Mashallah! You really know your horses, S.”
“So how do you like Calliope?” I asked her.
“She’s stubborn. Sassy was easier to ride.”
“Oh, how?”
“Sassy listens to me.”
As I was having this question and answer session with S, I realized that I was doing a lot of the questioning and she sounded like she wasn’t too eager to talk. It was probably the wrong timing on my side. However,I also realized that I enjoy learning new things from my children. Alhamdulillah, the homeschooling has become a somewhat of family-learning experience. It has been revolving a lot around animals, but it has been very interesting, alhamdulillah.
Well, the Surprise for Jedda II was pretty somber, Inna lilaahi wainna ilaihi raaji’oon, but S learned how to trot, so alhamdulillah.
White Lie
July 16, 2008 at 2:20 pm | In Al Huda Institute, Animals, Family, Mothering | 1 CommentTuesday equals horse day. I woke up a few minutes before 8, and when I was on the way to the bathroom, MIL came upstairs and suggested that she stay home while I take S to the horse-riding lesson. The reasoning was that since we weren’t going anywhere after the class because S had started her Al Huda Summer Course the previous day, there was no need for all of them to come along. H and N were still deep in post-fajr slumber, and the thought of leaving Baby Z appealed to me too, so I agreed.
I got ready and went downstairs for breakfast and a little later, S, all ready to go asked me,
“Why won’t you let Jedda go?”
Huh?? I was flabbergasted. As soon as I saw her expression, it began to dawn on me, prior to her answer to my impending question, what had happened.
“What do you mean?”
“Jedda said you won’t let her go.”
That confirmed it. Subhanallah!
“No, she was the one suggesting she didn’t go. She came to me and said so,” I replied.
“But she said you wouldn’t let her go,” S insisted.
I felt trapped, cornered, and prickly.
Alhamdulillah, MIL came to the kitchen and I decided to ‘open up the floor’.
“Ummi, S said you said I wouldn’t let you go,” I declared.
Let’s just say the next few exchanges led to me taking all of them to the horse-riding lesson, but unfortunately, S learned and realized that her Jedda produced a white lie to avoid hurting her, and that her Jedda is not that interested to watch her ride the horse.
That night, hubby brought it up with S. But apparently, that discussion went nowhere. So I took over.
“So what’ll you do next Tuesday?” I asked her.
Clad in her prayer garment, ready for Isha, she replied,
“Ask Jedda if she wants to go.”
“Well, what do you think she’ll say?” I asked.
“Yes,” she began.
“No, I’ll tell her she doesn’t have to go if she doesn’t want to,” she finally decided.
“What do you think she’ll do if you say that?” I asked.
“When I say that, she says ok before.”
“Oh, Ok.”
I just didn’t want her Jedda to feel pressed to say yes even though she doesn’t really want to go and figure out another way to dodge saying so to her granddaughter.
“Jedda didn’t watch Abi’s games. Grandma also wasn’t interested to watch H’s soccer games. i thought she would be. So it’s not a big deal. Is it a big deal to you?”
S shook her head, but somehow, I have a feeling it is, to some extent. I felt bad dictating how she should feel, but I feel pressed too. Poor S.
When I asked if it matters to her who watches her ride the horse, she said it doesn’t matter. In a way, that relieved me, but in another way, it saddens me. Reminds me of hubby not minding if people he loves come to watch his games or not.
I was somewhat surprised and disappointed that my mother wasn’t interested in watching her grandson play soccer when she was here. I thought she would. As for MIL, I was not that surprised that she’s not interested, from what I know about her.
S is growing up to be an adult, mentally and emotionally each day, especially from this incident. Subhanallah.
A Surprise for Jedda
July 9, 2008 at 8:13 pm | In Amusing, Animals, Family, Kids, Mothering | 4 Comments“Tell Jedda about tomorrow.”
S was still in her prayer garment. As I folded mine and hung it on a hanger, I continued,
“Did you tell Jedda about tomorrow?”
“No.”
I was surprised. She’s usually excited about her Tuesdays, always counting down to the next Tuesday, but ever since her grandmother got here, I think she has been relishing every single moment she could get with her Jedda.
Meanwhile, Jedda looked at her and us, and asked,
“What tomorrow?”
And hubby, being the joker that he is, raised his eyebrows mischievously,
“How about we make it a surprise. Haa….with a blindfold.”
I rolled my eyes, and headed downstairs. When I came back up, I asked,
“So did you tell Jedda?”
“No.”
“Is it going to be a surprise then?”
“Yes.”
Ok. Fine. A surprise for Jedda it is then, I guess.
The next morning, we headed out and hit the road. As we got to about a few minutes away from the stables, I said,
“I think you should tell Jedda about the dogs.”
I could sense some panic in MIL as I said this.
We soon entered the small narrow road leading to the stables, and as we rambled further on the pebbled path, the kids exclaimed,
“Jedda! Look at that horse!”
“Ohhh…where are we going. Horse…”
Let’s just say that Jedda truly was surprised that S is ‘adventurous’ (as she put it). Despite my warnings of the dogs, she excitedly urged me to take her photo with her grandchildren, saying that my BIL would ask for it. I was watching out for the dogs, not really expecting them to come to me, but more to MIL. Tim, the golden retriever, as usual, in all his friendliness, came at me. He’d already sniffed me out with a prior growl last week! Why me again? But I managed to stay put this time, merely raising my hands so he won’t lick them. The whole length of his body stood a few inches before me. He wagged his tail, looked at me, and when I made no move whatsoever to touch him, he moved away. Phew!
However, when he came near MIL, she jumped up and pleaded for me to help her. I remained seated (I’ve learned that one of the Don’ts is run away) and just told her to ignore him. Easier said than done. I understand. Been there, not able to do that.
But subhanallah, alhamdulillah, Tim didn’t sniff or lick her. H on the other hand, took a liking to Tim, and asked if he could pet him. I said yes, as long as he washed his hand afterwards. So, while MIL held Baby Z, H and N ran back and forth, urging Tim to play fetch. Tim, ready with a green rubber ball in his mouth, obliged. As H petted and ruffled Tim’s fur, MIL expressed her disgust.
It made me think of how my perceptions have changes over the years. The old me wouldn’t have tolerated the kids’ interest in frogs or toads (they managed to catch one small toad they aptly named Ted, and plopped him in an empty drinking water bottle which they then placed back in the van despite my protests of it being burned to death in the heat – it did die. Inna lillaahi wainna ilaihi raaji’oon. May Allah forgive us.) or even dogs. They’re not that interested in dogs, but we have let them pet some.
Several times, as we sat on the benches under the shade of a big tree while S rode Sassy, Tim did try to get MIL to play with him, and each time, MIL jumped up and shouted out how disgusted she was with dogs. It was a comical sight, and we ended up laughing.
In all of this, for the past few days, I noticed that if Baby Z napped three times throughout the day, he didn’t need to wake up at night. So, while MIL sat with the kids, and dealt with Tim, I nursed Baby Z in the van, leaving the side doors open for the cooling breeze, to fend off the basking heat of the incoming noon sun. I expected it to happen, and it did. The bloodhound with blood-shot eyes, quietly sneaked up to the door, and sniffed the bottom of Baby Z’s seat.
“H!”
I didn’t know what else to do. I was nursing Baby Z. H came running, and when he saw the bloodhound, he backed away.
“Tell him to go away,” I told H.
“How?” H kept a lookout for the bloodhound and said,
“I only like Tim.”
Subhanallah! I didn’t really care if the boy only liked Tim. I just wanted the bloodhound away from the door, lest he decided to jump up and join me in the van!
“Close that door,” I ordered H. Alhamdulillah the door near where I was sitting was automatic, so I could easily push the button if the bloodhound came near, which he later did, much to my annoyance, for we were deprived of the breeze due to this interruption.
Well, the surprise for Jedda seemed to be truly chock full of ‘other’ surprises. After the riding lesson, we spent the rest of the morning shopping for Baby Z’s potty, shorts at Babies ‘R’ Us, and groceries at Whole Foods. By the time we were done, there was only enough time to head to one library (we had planned on going to both) and pick hubby up from his office. By the time we got home, Baby Z was hungry and sleepy, and I was rushing like crazy to finish up cooking the chicken I had baked earlier that morning. It was a long day yesterday, as I also had to take hubby to his physical therapy.
I wonder how next Tuesday will be like, with the dogs and all. Would Jedda even want to come with us again? Watch out for Surprise for Jedda II to find out!
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