Aash at Home

It broke my heart when I saw little Yusi waving goodbye to me on my way to work from lunch and told me to be back at 2 by gesturing his index and middle fingers. I could tell he was sad that I was leaving but understood that I will be back soon to take him to get his cake and celebrate his "Happy to yee" - A day he has been waiting for a quarter of his life. Can't believe he is actually 2 today! He is growing up so fast, physically he is still tiny but is growing  by leaps and bounds mentally and socially Mashallah!  He understands how to make each member of the family happy and also knows exactly what to do to push our buttons.  Whenever he is being disciplined he knows to scream for... Babaaaaa!! As no matter what happens Abba is always on his side and lets him get away with anything. Amma is a little less lenient but melts pretty quickly as soon as he bats his big doe eyes in front of her and says Daduuu (his name ...

Yesterday I went to the now empty 1826 with Ajee to meet with our new Realtor who will help us put it on rent. While we waited for the her,  I looked at the empty rooms, bare walls (except for the nails and the really low pencil scribbles n the Master Bath walls thanks to Yusuf) and furniture indents on the carpet. The emptiness  reminded me of the same time exactly 10 years ago right before our wedding when we purchased this brand new townhouse.  The thought that I will not be living here anymore saddened me as this place has always been so blessed and has witnessed so many happy moments of my life that I have experienced from  a young, energetic college girl to a grown (not so energetic) mother of 2. I still remember walking in to 1826 (which was still half done) with Ajee, Amma, Abba, My Abba and our Realtor at the time to choose the upgrades, paint colors, wood flooring etc for our future house. It was so exciting to be starting my new life with ...

Its been over a month since I have posted (sorry Mahi!), so I guess it is time for some general updates. Everyone at the house (including Yusuf) is very familiar with the term Bey Blades now, and since my last post we have had several additions to the Bey collection. Isa now has a stadium for it and just convinced Ajee to order a specialty Japanese Bey Blade online. Bey Blades in their stadium  The Bey blades however, do come in handy. The sentence, "we will take away the Beys" works like a charm when homework needs to be completed, reading needs to be done or when there is a general need for discipline;  the Bey collection is also one of Yusuf's favorite things as he knows it is off limits, so whenever Isa is not looking he will go and sit in the stadium, or take all the beyblade parts apart. These toys can also used as a distraction to feed Yusuf. Yusuf in the stadium Feeding Yusuf, ...

1826 is about to go on rent in February so we have to find a rental place pretty quickly. For the past month or so we have been looking and have not had much luck - a pretty stressful situation, but we have been in situations like this before and are hoping that something will be worked out right in the nick of time.   This past weekend Amma, Abba, Ajee and the kids looked at a few houses and fell in love with one. They were so excited (especially Amma Abba) as they thought they had found the perfect place in every way. However someone else got to it before us, which kind of depressed the two of them. A few weeks ago a similar situation had happened where we almost got a place but the landlord gave it to someone else. We cannot completely blame luck for us not finding a suitable place however, there are some other factors: 1.       We need something big enough to house all of us and some. 2.       Each member of the family has their...

My Abba has picked me up from the dorms and I am home for the weekend. I have quite a bit of reading to do for my American History class and an English Paper due. I am sitting on the Computer checking my e-mails, and I see an e-mail from a certain "Ajnabi Bechara" (Innocent Stranger)..I hesitantly click on it thinking what if it's a virus. It was actually an email from a Secret Admirer..what are you serious??Its 1999!!! who approaches girls like this???..It must be someone playing a joke on me. Little did I know that this "Ajnabi" - unfamiliar person was going to become the most essential and familiar part of my life. My Dearest Ajee, The past 4 days have been a constant reminder of how important this familiarity is to me as you have been in California. You went there to help Phuppi with her travels to Pakistan and to visit your relatives and spend time with your cousin (who you grew up with) Faisal Bhai who was injure...

I: Amma..do you know there are 145 million turkeys in the World? A: Really Isa..that's awesome! I did not know that. I: Seriously Amma there are ..Mrs. Spencer told us. I: Amma what is 95 + 5 +90? A: 190 I: You know..I know what 2 times 9 is..(counting double on fingers)..hmmm 17 ..I mean 18!! A: Very good Isa!! I: what is 100 gazillion + 405 million?? A: I have no clue! (where does he even think of this stuff from??) NUMBERS is Isa's new fascination, the shoe lace craze has finally taken a back seat (thank the Lord!). However, he still likes getting into random stuff. Yesterday, I came home and his hands were completely blue probably due to some kind of paint or ink. I had to feed him as whatever he touched turned blue and the stuff did not come off no matter how hard he washed his hands. After eating, he wanted to go out and play with his friend (who had just left our house), or watch Curious George,...

Although we arrive on time, the rush is crazy at Al-Farooq (Mosque) as Eid is on a Sunday this year. There is no parking so Ajee drops us off by the entrance. This takes a few minutes. Abba helps me get Yusuf out, while Amma gets Nani Amma out, Phuppi is carrying the bags and shawls. As I am getting the diaper bag out, I rip half of my right thumb nail..OUCH!!!..The officer wants us to hurry up as there are many cars behind us. So I take the baby from Abba, with my diaper bag (Thank heavens it’s a backpack) on my back and Isa holding my hand with the throbbing thumb and make my way to the ladies section with Amma, Phuppi and Nani Amma. We take off our shoes. Nani Amma and Amma take the elevator; Me and Phuppi decide to take the stairs as the line is too long. We finally make it upstairs and re-unite with Nani Amma and Amma. There is absolutely NO Space. We all try going from ro...

It is finally Eid morning and as always everything is chaotic at the Saiyed Residence. I can hear Ajee getting ready while I am still trying to catch a few extra zzzz's cuddled up with Yusuf, who is finally sleeping peacefully after a rough night. Last night was a late night for all us ladies anyways since we were getting all the clothes and our selves ready for Eid. After dying their hair, Amma and Phuppi were up in the attic till about midnight looking for their stash of new clothes. We took votes to decide who is going to wear what, once all the options were laid out. After the final verdicts, all the men and kids' clothes were taken out and Amma ironed while Phuppi prepared for mini facials for the 3 of us. I finally made it to bed, by then Yusuf was up!!..    "Wake up Aleesh..We have 12 minutes to leave for Eid Prayers"......

It is 11:45 P.M at the Saiyed Residence on a Thursday night, I have been trying to put Yusuf down for the last hour or so but have not been able to. Ajee (My husband) finally comes in to the room and I hand over the baby to him to get a break and go down for some water. As I head down the stairs I see Hasan (Ajee's youngest brother) jumping up and down in his sweats infront of his computer in Ajee's Study (which is in fact a dining room). He is actually copying a video of the P-90 X excercise routine, Hasan's new obesession for the month. Meanwhile, Amma (Ajee's mother) is squatting sweeping (for the 2nd time today) the carpet and the foyer floor with a small hard broom ("tinke wali jharoo - specially imported from Pakistan), and a soft regular broom simultaneously. Abba is waiting for her to finish as he needs help finding something upstairs. Phuppi (Ajee's paternal aunt) just finished washing the dishes and is now watching an Indian ...

The bond that a parent has with their child is unique and cannot be compared with anything else in the World. However I would like to talk about the extremely special bond that a grandfather shares with his grandson. The bond between Yusuf and his Baba (Abba). The love that they have for each other is so heartwarming and so beautiful to watch. Abba literally can spend the whole day with Yusuf and not get bored or tired. He carries Yusi for hours on end and then continuously rocks and sings to him just to put him to sleep, without showing any signs of exhaustion eventhough I know his arms are aching with arthritis. Yusuf although only a baby, can sense this unconditional love and so prefers his Baba over any other person and will look for him when he is not around and cry for him if he sees even the sight of him. Every morning I bring Yusi down and I see Abba sitting on his computer brow...

So I have been thinking for quite a few days about starting a blog..I mean everyone is doing it these days...so why not join the bandwagon..but then wondered..what the heck do I write about?? I mean I don't have any extreme talents, advice, insights or any great accomplishments that I can share.. So why not start with my wonderful, loving, and extremely chaotic family...which has to be my most prized possession, and pretty much what my life revolves around. Ok..so we are definitely not the regular American household with 2 adults and 2 kids that wake up at 7 AM go to school/work, are back by 5 and have the lights out by 9 P.M..There is constant activity from 7AM till 1AM in our beloved 3 bedroom townhouse (1826), that we have been trying to sell unsuccessfully for literally years, however it always manages to somehow accommodate our growing number of members Mashallah!!! There are currently 9 people residing at...