Upsides Down

Oh, the things Yusuf can do all by himself these days!

And yet, he (sometimes, at least) takes the time to help out the little guy.

Wedventures – Week 2

Scenes from our Wedventure two weeks ago (click to enlarge):

Starting down the path…

Meeting a garter snake

Petting some caterpillars

Trying the swings

Climbing

Collecting treasures

Looking up

Petting prickly caterpillars

Following the leader

Getting wet

Throwing rocks

Posing with the biggest leaf ever.

My Ramadan Super Star

Yusuf was one of the many children highlighted in the most recent issue of the The Muslim Link for fasting during Ramadan. Look for him amongst the sweet faces below; he’s a little more than halfway down. Click the picture below to open it in a new window, then click again to enlarge.

From The Muslim Link:

Here they are … your Ramadhan Super Stars! The children listed in this issue fasted all or part of the month of Ramadhan, opting to participate before they are obligated to fast. We salute these shining lights and ask Allah to keep them on the straight path throughout their lives, Ameen!

Autumn at Lake Artemesia

There is nothing like a late afternoon walk in the fall. The evening light makes the colors even more beautiful than they are midday. Of course, the boys are so fast on their bikes now that I spent most of our trek around the lake running to keep up (note to self: I need a bike!). I did manage to take one quick pause to snap a picture with my phone. Gorgeous, right?

Farm Life

Last weekend, our dear friend held a community clean-up on her 30 acre farm to prepare for the approaching winter. The boys and I were there from mid-morning Saturday until bedtime Sunday. The group of families cleaned the chicken coop, brooder, and goat pens. We weeded and cleared out sections of the garden, tilled, and spread manure. We mowed the lawns and trimmed the bushes.  I was too busy working to get too many pictures, but oh how I wish I had one of Yusuf with his chicken coop cleaning mask on — he wore it well after the work was done, like a trophy for a job well done. Here are some general farm scenes I’ve taken on our frequent trips. The farm is, after all, the place we spend the most time after our own house.

Zak and Snowball

A few of the 25 laying hens.

Yusuf's chicken feeder

Yusuf built this chicken feeder! We measured together, I used the circular saw to cut the pieces, and Yusuf put it together with the screw gun. I did the four screws that had to go through the PVC pipe, but he put in the other eight all on his own. Needless to say, he was a proud little guy, especially come Sunday morning when he got to spread the chicken feed in the trough that he built himself. The chickens had no complaints.

Introducing Wedventures – Week 1

Wednesday is the boys’ day off school, so usually we plan something special. It is fitting that our first documented Wedventure (Wednesday + adventure, get it?) was a trip to South Germantown Park’s Adventure Playground. The outing started with Mansoor slamming his sweet finger in the car door. He screamed, his fingernail turned purple, but all in all he handled it like the little man he is. Our trip ended with Yusuf accidentally kicking Mansoor smack in the fact while clumsily attempting to climb a ladder. Between Mansoor’s tears, Yusuf managed to fall off a four foot high seal statue and land (hard) on his face. Thankfully, the ground was sawdust rather than cement. Despite the absurd number of injuries (and two emergency trips to the bathroom), we had a great time. Really!

Scenes from Seattle, Part I

Mt. Rainier from the window seat

Mom!

Planning our zoo route

The new penguin exhibit

Yusuf's beloved jaguar, up close and personal

Mansoor is eating raspberries by the bowlful these days

Getting dirty at the beach

And oh the sunsets... Photos never do them justice (especially those taken with a camera phone)

Mama Hen and her Chicks

I admit it, I can’t draw. Really, I simply don’t know how to draw anything other than maybe a doodled flower while I’m supposed to be taking notes. So, when Yusuf and I sit around to draw together, I’m far from an inspiration for him. Our drawings tend to consist of geometric houses (you know, a triangle roof on top of a square house), stick people, grass and sky. We make great messes with paint and construct all sorts of cool 3D projects, but drawing has eluded us both. It was time for an intervention.

We finally purchased Draw, Write, Now last week, and this lovely book entered our school room yesterday. Today we have masterpieces! Behold Yusuf’s Mama Hen and Chicks:

Notice the big brother chick and the little brother chick

Yusuf decided that this one will go to our dear friend Zahirah as she is currently raising chickens. Tomorrow we will try to create another drawing, I’m hoping for (my) Grandma. This breakthrough is making the idea of making cards for relatives and pen-pals much more exciting!

Out of Habit

Blogging is a habit that must be developed. Whenever I sit down to post, I feel that I have to catch up with all I have ever intended to post before I most on to the post at hand. To appease myself, here are some of our recent excursions.

PlayWise Kids in Columbia, MD

I’m convinced this place is run by the church next door as a fund-raising venture, and it seems a bit pricey for the quality and quanity of the exhibits. Regardless, the kids have a blast each time we go. It was nice this time to meet up with other sisters there (and our masses of Muslim kids), it felt very homey with so many familiar faces running about. I didn’t get many photos of Yusuf because he was too busy running around with the big kids.

Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin:

Mom and I went the day after the official parade, a beautiful sunny day in the 70s! I actually got sun on my cheeks and nose for the first time in many years. It was packed around the mall and Jefferson Memorial, but thankfully the crowd thinned out by the time we reached the FDR Memorial. This was my first visit to see FDR, and I was completely surprised and impressed with the design. The cherry blossoms were at their absolute perfection… a great day indeed.

Huntley Meadows Park:

The boys and I went to Huntley Meadows last summer, but this was our first visit leaving the stroller at home. Mansoor is so small for his age that it’s easy to forget he’s nearly three! He is completely capable of being a full-time walker now. So, we all walked the two miles, on a nice path through the woods and on the boardwalk across the marsh. Mansoor did not ask to be picked up until the parking lot was back in sight, and when he was politely denied a ride, he walked his little self to the car. Masha’Allah, I was very proud of him. It was a bit colder and windier than I had anticipated, but alhamdulillah we had fleeces and windbreakers. We saw many birds including the great egret (I love the big water birds!), but insha’allah we’ll be heading back in a month or six weeks for more flowers and frogs.

I don’t have any pictures of our recent trips to Dumbarton Oaks, Williamsport, or the Baltimore Aquarium, but alhamdulillah I’m feeling more caught up.

The Baltimore Aquarium, as a side note, has not only a new and improved dolphin show, but it has a brand new 4D Immersion Theater which is amazingly fabulous. In addition to the 3D goggles, they have 4D effects like mist, breeze, bubbles, leg ticklers, back pokers, and vibrating seats. Yusuf loved it; it was great to see him enjoy the fright, to shriek in surprise with a smile on his face.

On Ice

On his own two feet

Too quick for the camera!