Aash at Home

Last night I got absolutely no sleep at all. Yusuf woke up like every 30 minutes. I don't understand how this 9 month old functions with no sleep. Plus Isa who was also sleeping with me (As Ajee was not there) decided to move on my shoulder in the middle of the night. I remember telling him to move but ofcourse unlike Yusuf he sleeps like a log and can't hear anything. So the whole night I was lying between the two kids with barely enough space to breathe. This morning I had to wake up at 6:30 to get my self and Isa ready to go to school, but all my plans were ruined as Yusuf woke  up (as soon as I got up) and didn't want to let go of me. So I had to finally give him to Abba and Amma at around 7:15 but he wailed and wouldn't go to anyone. Amma then had to forcefully take him and distract him. I then hurriedly carried Isa to the bathroom, after which he was running to t...

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...

Phuppi is leaving on Thursday for California and then is going back to Pakistan as her 6 month stay in the US is coming to an end (She will be back in May Inshallah!)..Although she is a woman of few words, she is a tremendous help and so much fun..She is known for feeding kids and fattening them up. Hasan apparently was her responsibility when he was a baby and he and his P90X are now working hard to undo the damage that was done years ago.  She now works hard on getting every morsel into Yusuf so that she can quickly wash the dish and not have to keep leftovers (her pet peeve).  Now that she is leaving I am already wondering who is going to give me honest opinions about my clothes, watch movies with us, fill me in on all the Indian Soaps, and clean up after Hasan??..Her presence will truly be missed.  Phuppi watching Captain America with the gang!  Phuppi leaving  gave us all just another excuse to...

"Arav's teacher says he should be potty trained by now..do you think he is too old...how old was Isa when he was trained?? "No Sangita..its fine..he just turned 2 ...all kids take their own..." KA-BAM! "Oh my God Ayesha..let me call you back" Oh gosh..what did this girl do now?? I hope everything is okay. She had banged Ankur's (her husband) car into her neighbor's car while she was on the phone with me (the one thing Ankur had advised her not to do was to back the car out while on the phone). I was not very surprised when I found out as it is after all "Sangita" we are talking about. Who is one of the most caring and fun individuals I know but not exactly the most careful when it comes to driving, eating and for that matter even walking. Sangita and I met in high school. As two young girls, our only worries at that time were Indian Movies and Pakistani Dramas. We used to stand by each other's lockers and discuss Dhoop Kinare a...

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,...

My Abba has asked me to move to the  dorms, something he was totally against just 4 months ago in September of 1998. I guess he couldn't watch me leaving the house in the dark every morning to catch the Marta bus and then the train just to make it in time to an 8AM lab at Georgia Tech.  He has finally dropped me off to my room at the Woodruff dorms with my comforter and pillow, some clothes and a few snacks. I am by myself for the first time in my life and extremely nervous..in my heart I was asking Abba to please not go..but I made this brave face in front of him and hugged him good bye.  I take a look at the other bed, it has a colorful comforter and a green stuffed turtle on it. I see a microwave and a small fridge - beside it is some coffee, I then see a humongous phone charger by the computer (wow..she has a cell phone ..how cool is that!!) hmm..I wonder what this other person is goi...

Last night I was not feeling great at all...was extremely tired from the night before as Yusuf had not let me get much sleep and then I thought I may be catching something as I had a scratchy throat and a slight runny nose -btw I now have a full blown cold! To top it off my right eye lid was swollen apparently due to the lack of sleep (not a very pretty picture). Yusuf had his 9 month appointment that morning and his progress is great Mashallah, I just had to survive the after shots screaming.                              Yusuf at his Doc Appointment..before shots!  After dropping him and Amma home, I went to work and got stuck in mad traffic on the way back didnt get home till after 5 and saw Isa watching TV.  I then had to argue with Isa to turn off Spon...