Chocolate Mints In a Jar

As a mother I try really hard to instill the right values in my daughter.  It is an ongoing and conscious process that keeps evolving. One of those values I really want to instill in her is gratitude for all the blessing we have.  If you have seen the movie or read the book Pollyanna you should be familiar with the Glad Game.  Pollyanna would say why she were glad with the things she has even if it were not what she really wanted in the first place.  Now this is a lovely game to teach to children, but since my little one is still too young to recognize things like that on her own we play a different game.

For the last couple of nights after lights out and story time we start saying الحمد الله (Thank God) for all the things we are grateful for.  I start saying the things we did during the day and the things we have and the things we got.  Silly things, big things just anything I think she should be grateful for.  For example:  Thank God for the wonderful day we had, thank God we have wonderful friends at the nursery, thank God Lulu is healthy, thank God Mummy loves Lulu and Lulu loves Mummy,  and I keep going until she falls asleep.

Sometimes she just parrots what I saw and then sometimes she comes up with her own stuff like last night she said thank God for Kitty.  Kitty is her favorite Hello Kitty doll who gets dragged around all day and does everything with her.

The exercise is also good for me, because it helps me unwind even when the day has been tough.  I am reminded of all the wonderful blessings we have and that they are all gifts from God.  They are not rights but favors which are not always permanent but plenty.  I felt she had to learn to be thankful to the creator just as she is taught to say thank you to people around her.

What values do you try to instill in your children and how?  I would love to get more ideas.

3 years ago, right about now, was born. It was a normal day, well not so normal. I woke up, woke my husband up and we were getting ready to go out for breakfast and then I was going to work. My back was killing me since the day before but I still wasn’t due in till another week. I called my doc and she said she would like to see me. To make a long story short, I went through all the labor pain and then went in for an emergency C section. Too much info right?

Well it is my blog, and I have decided to stop self censoring myself.

And suddenly I had a little baby girl. All the reading in the world does not prepare you for the actual moment when you find a child in your arms. And I am not going to go all sappy and tell you that children are the nicest thing since the age of dinosaurs, because well, before I had her, I disliked kids.

I still don’t enjoy the company of too many noisy kids at the same time. And yes she exhausts me sometimes but it is a lot like a roller coaster ride. You know you might throw up and you know you will be so scared you just might shit your pants, but it is still an exhilarating experience that most of us are willing to go through.

Sometimes she totally drives me insane when she just won’t behave. Like last night, she just flat out refused to go to bed. Sometimes all the talking is so exhausting. I feel like a broken record. Or when she decides to fall asleep at 6pm and wake up at 4 am in the morning. I think I haven’t had any decent sleep since she was born. Then there was the time she decided to smear my favorite body cream all over the duvet. Ah well, just another day in the life of a toddler’s mother.

Two days ago she came running and gave me a kiss and said ‘el boosa beta3tek gat’ your kiss just arrived. And that is why it is worth it.

And on your next birthday call your mom and say thank you to her.

She celebrated her birthday at her nursery (yay no clean up for me and lots of help too). It was a Hello Kitty themed party.
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Motherhood is really hard on the knees.  You spend half of your time on your knees either praying for them or praying for patience. The rest of the time you are on your knees cleaning up the mess they make.

I am getting myself some padded knee pads.

I woke up this morning to the smell of chocolate pudding.  At first I thought I was dreaming of chocolate goodness, then I realized I was actually covered in chocolate pudding.  Lulu woke up, helped herself to a pot, opened it and decided to climb into bed with us.  When I first got married, I thought the key in my new fridge was silly, now I know why you need to keep the fridge locked all the time.  This isn’t the first time, a couple of months ago I forgot to lock it and woke up with strawberry milk in my hair.  She thought it was hilarious both times.

Toddlers are full of mischief.

1 day out of 365 days?

Leh ya3ni?

Howa el mama beteb2a mama only one day a year?

I change diapers every day.

I have been potty training for what feels like forever.

I kiss ever ouffa to make it better.

I worry all the time.

I yell sometimes (well more than sometimes recently, but you are welcome to come try talking sense into a very naughty two year old).

I watch Curious George, Sesame Street and Timmy Time (I confess I do enjoy that).  No more Barney in this household because the purple dino drives me insane.

I dream of her future but hope that I will never turn into a nagging or pressuring kind of mum.

I pick up toys all day long.

I have a bad back but will give piggy back rides whenever they are asked for and sometimes even do the cooking while she is sitting on my shoulders,  pulling my hair and poking my eyes.

I do it all hoping that someday, years from now, on mother’s day she will come and say “happy mother’s day” and really mean it.

Mother’s day does not really suck, it just reminds us that one day is not enough, a whole life time is not enough to say thank you to the woman who carried you, birthed you and raised you until you became the person you are.

To my own mother, thank you and happy mummuz day (she will probably remind me that it is a bed3a bas bardo happy muzmuz day ya mummy).

To all of you, call your mother and wish her a happy day.

Call your daddies too, because even though the daddy over here has never changed a diaper, he is still a sweet daddy and deserves a day too.

To those unfortunate to have lost your moms, say a prayer for her.  Tala3olha sadaka garya because I am sure that is way better than any other gift.

And this is my gift to myself.  I am going to print this and have Lulu color it (a.k.a scribble all over it and smear it with pasta sauce)

Coloring page from Bubblegumclub.com