#1 First Picture

March 2005

Aw! Look at us! So young! Sigh!

Okay! Snap out of it! We  are not that old!

And the important thing is, it feels like we've just gotten married last year and we are about to celebrate our first anniversary!

Drum roll....

Reality throws us back a hundred feet when we see our daughter  jumping on the sofa and our son chasing his own shadow and bumping his head on dangerous corners!

Meh!....Life!!!

But we are so glad that we've made it so far. We've been together since 2004 and this is our the tenth year together. We got hitched on 2005.

This photo was taken in 2005. For my husband's birthday I wanted to gift him a photo of us in a fancy frame and of course a very romantic poem was written by me as well. I didn't want to tell him why I wanted to take this picture and I told him that I just wanted a picture of us together. Oh yeah, I gave myself away when I smiled when he  looked at me. He chose to hide the fact that he knew I was up to something and played dumb! I love you so much. 

Now when I look back, I remember missing him so much when I was at work, texting him every morning and every night! Those were the good old days! We were so smitten that we got married after one year of dating. I still do miss him when we are at work and now we don't have to send text messages at night! Instead we spend some time before we sleep catching up on each other's day and simply talking before we sleep. Yeah, we are happy just like we were in those days...it's actually happier now that we've been together  for so long and created a family together. 

So I believe you'd want to know what happened to the birthday gift...right! Well, I've put it in  box and hidden it because I don't want it to break! When my youngest turns 15 perhaps, all the photo frames would be dug out from it's hiding places and displayed like they used to be! 

Before We Wed - 7 Day Blogging Challenge

So I'm going to try this and I invite all my bloggy friends to try this as well.There is no better way to dig up the treasure chest of sweet memories! Well it's there and I can tell you it's over loaded and six men had to sit on it to properly close it. From the day I knew that my darling shared the same earth as I do to today has been a great journey and this treasure chest is brimming with so many years of cherished memories. With hectic schedules and kids, we don't go there as often as we should! I may not blog everyday but I'll try the seven tasks for sure! So visit my blog for updates and I'm starting on task number one people!

I came across this from: http://vanillahousewife.com/before-we-got-hitched/

Missus V came across this from: http://chasingadaredevilandtwins.com/2014/03/04/before-we-wed-7-day-blogging-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-999

Thank you Kayla for the great idea!

Chiffon Cake

Have you ever tasted chiffon cake? I have and it is really delicious. If you have not, you should seriously try Saushan's chiffon...they are just out of this world. It's very soft and once you take a bit, you'd feel like the heavenly piece is melting in your mouth. Of course, you'd want more and more!

For my son's first birthday, I asked Saushan to bake a chiffon cake and decorate it with icing. I even sent her a sample picture and she said the cake would be ready. However, it didn't turn out so nicely after all. What actually happened was that Saushan made Pocoyo like shown in the picture but it was a bit bigger and it was too heavy for the chiffon cake. As a result, Pocoyo sank into the cake and there were cracks all around it. Yup, by the time we reached the studio to take birthday photos, it was about to collapse! But still we decided to fix it a little bit and take pictures.

So we took pictures of the cake first. As the photographer was about to click his camera, Pocoyo' arm fell off. So he bent down and tried to insert the arm into its place. Meanwhile, my husband and I were combing Mummu's hair and getting ready for the photo shoot etc...you know...the usual last minute checks! 

The photographer took several pictures of the cake from different angles and said, "Okay, I think we've got a few shots of the cake. Are you all ready!"

I looked up, saw his face and had to use every ounce of self control that I had! Even though I did not want to laugh out loud, my lips were not obeying me at all. The corners kept on stretching, forcing me to smile when I didn't want to and laughter kept on bubbling up inside me. I was about to explode so I turned around and then I saw him in the mirror. I took a few deep breaths and looked at my son but still what I saw was demanding me to laugh because it was really funny!

The photographer had icing smeared across his lips! Seriously! He did bend down to attach Pocoyo's arm and then he must have gotten icing on his fingers and may be, licked his thumb! I really don't know whether he tasted the icing or what really happened!

Soon everyone noticed that he had icing on his lips and we were trying our best to not laugh! I can tell you that it was tough! You see, this involuntary smile kept on rippling over our face and we tried to hide it and whenever he spoke or when we saw his face, we just couldn't help ourselves. But I swear, non of us laughed! Well, not in front of him any way!

Finally, I think he saw himself in the mirror and he muttered something and wiped his mouth with a tissue. 

By the time we went home, the cake had collapsed but it was so yummy. Since the cake was a mess, Saushan baked a second cake for my son for free and it was gorgeous and super delicious. But I have to admit, I prefer Saushan's chiffon cake over butter cake. 

If you want a very delicious and beautiful cake for your child's birthday party, you should contact Saushan. She's one of the best cake makers in Male' and Pocoyo cake didn't turn our so well because it was a chiffon cake and since it was really soft, the big guy sank in. Saushan later told me that she realized that the cake couldn't s support a heavy ball of cake (Pocoyo) much later. She should never have listened to me! 

Here are some of the cakes she has made, aren't they nice?

 

This is Saushan's page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakesmaldives?fref=ts  

Check out her website: http://www.hedhika.com/
And here's her contact number: 3326133 or 7934485

To finish off, let me give you some advice... if you accidentally get icing on your fingers and even if you tasted it accidentally, make sure that you wipe your lips properly!

I love you

 

When my daughter tells me that she loves me, I tell her I love her this much and stretch my arms out! And then she would jump and excitedly inform me that she loves from here to there (pointing from one side of the room the other side). I think this is something that we all do. We tell our children that we love them to the moon and back because we really do.

I was helping Maly with her homework one night when she asked me what the last number was. I explained to her that there isn't a last number and that numbers are infinite. She was very curious and asked many questions. 

That night, after having dinner and brushing her teeth, she lay in bed and called out to me.

After a pause and with a smile on her face she said, "I love you mummy".
"I love you too sweet heart", I said.
"How much?" she asked.
"Hmm, my love could fill this house from top to bottom", I said proudly thinking that she wouldn't be able to outsmart this time either!

But I was wrong!

"I love you till the last number!" She said and looked really satisfied because she knew that I couldn't top that.

My little genius! I love you to bits.

I gave her a hug and told her that I too loved her till the number. Yes, our love for each other is infinite. Our hearts would remain forever entwined because no one could take our place no matter how old we grow. I would always be her mom and she would always be my daughter.

Motherhood is a tough journey but it's these special moments that we get to cherish in our hearts that makes all the tiredness and hard-work worthwhile at the end of the day and I'm loving every minute of it.

Sealed with endless love

My dearest darling son,

Today you've turned 1 year 8 months. You are growing up way too fast and I really can't keep up with. Why don't you slow down for while, because mommy likes to hold you, tickle your tummy and throw you in the air because you like it so much. You know, when you grow up, I can't hold you and carry you around, or thrown you up and catch you just in time. 

Right now, you don't like to brush your teeth
and you are very picky with your food. I mean, its not safe to trust weird mushy stuff that we call food, right. Well it's ok, you just take your time and I'll be here with you. Will move on to gobbling up those chicken wings from Mary Brown when you are ready. There's no need to rush at all. 

Do you know what I would remember most about your childhood? I would remember our special bed time routine. Every night, right after you we are done with dinner, I brush your teeth and you make a big fuss. Next I powder you little booty, armpits and face. You are just adorable that I could dress you up forever and ever.

Next, we switch off the lights and you cuddle up in arms and look straight into my eyes. By now you would so sleepy that your eyes would droop but still your arms reach out and touch my face. And that's when I have to kiss you fingers one by one and the biggest reward I get is the beautiful smile that spreads across your face illuminating pure happiness. I love the way your cheeks dimple. Next I kiss your toes one at a time and your face, cheeks, eyes and forehead. All I have to do next is gently rock you in my arms and you would fall asleep. I sure will miss this the most when you grow up and I love you and will keep on loving you till the end of time.

I'm really happy and proud that you are growing up. I always pray that you and your sister would become responsible citizens of whom everyone would be proud of. I just hope that you would be happy with whatever you choose to do and I'm sure that you will also love me till the end of time.

I'm sure you'll read this letter one fine day and wonder why I wrote this. Well, I'm sitting at work and I have about 10 minutes left before I head home and I don't know...I just want to post this letter here so that you'd know when you grow up that even when I'm here at work, you are always in my thoughts and most importantly, in my heart! I wish I could be with you all the time until you are ready to fly on your own.

Yours loving,
Mommy.

Precious Drawings

What does your children do in their leisure time? Mine love playing games on their I-pads and watch cartoons. I try to limit their time with the I-pad and TV, but with my busy schedule and everything, it's not that easy. Besides, what else could they do. When I was small, I used to play in the garden all the time. Nowadays we live in small apartments and we barely have enough space to keep our belongings. A garden would be just one potted plant hanging on the out door unit of the AC. Well, most of the time! 

Yes, like the rest of the kids...my daughter is inseparable from her I-pad but, she likes to draw and spends a considerable amount of time drawing this and that. Let me show you some of her work... 

She drew this last year when she started reading. She was able to read three letter words.. I don't remember the exact date but I was very impressed because she would always draw a picture illustrating what she learns. I think she's a visual learner.So when I have to prepare for a unit test, I make sure that she draws a mind map of the entire topic she's learning. When I prepared her for her fisrt social scinece test, she drew the uses of water, water sports, characteristics of water and etc and I found out that it was really easy for her to remember everything.






She drew this last year. Back then Ainy used to live in an apartment near our place. I just love this because she has included minute details and it is so colourful. Of course, we don;t live in a green field and there isn't a creek, river or a pond in between our houses! Maly is just very creative! Oh and the bug you see near the pond is Maly's friend, "LADYBIRD"...she says!







This was also draw last year. According to Maly, the drawing shows Maly and her little brother. She started writing on her drawing soon after she started reading. I didn't bother about the mistakes back then because she was learning and as she started writing paragraphs and reading more books, she eventually corrected these simple mistakes.

And this is one of my favorite! She says that this is a "Rainbow Dinosaur!" Isn't she creative!



She drew this one day and gave it to me. I was really touched so I brought it work and have diplayed it in my cubicle.

According to her its me and her of course. The thought bubble shows me and Maly is in my tummy. Oh and don't mistake that 'I' for a 'W'...she have used a fancy font, that's all!

Now this drawing shows bugs, animals, fish and humans living in his beautiful world together. That blue figure with the bow tie on it's head, yeah...that one! It's a blue human! And she is so right, sin;t ti? I mean, we should live in this beautiful world in harmony. Why fight? Why kill animals! Why can't we just live happily understanding each others differences?

I think you can guess that she likes the cartoon, "Frozen". This picture shows Elsa and the Snowman! She drew this last night.

When I see my daughter drawing and coloring, I see Leonardo da Vinci at work! Hahaa! I bet it's the same for every mother. Perhaps Maly would grow up and be a great artist. I make sure that she has different coloured A4 papers, pencil colours, crayons and markers are within her reach at home. So that even if I'm not around, she could draw instead of wasting her time.

Yes, she has drawn on my brand new bed sheet, and you should see the black hole on my wall and don't forget the butterfly and space station on the adjacent wall! I really don't mind them. You see, she'll be all grown up soon and then my walls would be bare! No one would scribble on them and I think I would miss that. I know, Mummu can scribble now and he would decorate my wall for a few years more when Maly is done, but every night when they sleep, I realize how quickly they are growing up and I feel that I'm not getting enough time to be with them. And I wish that I could grab a magical remote and slow down time or may be pause for a few more years until I get enough. Naa! I don't think I would ever get enough of love and time with them because I'm greedy when it comes to love. Who isn't?

These drawings are very precious because they show how she feels and great talent. If anyone asks about my most valuable assets, these are some of them and I'm keeping these drawing with me forever. My collection is going to grow as Maly grows up and of course, my son would be contributing his share soon. I can't wait.

Sanitary Napkins

Have you ever been embarrassed when you picked a packet of sanitary napkins in a shop? I know, this could be a topic that most girls wouldn't want to talk about but let's talk about this...shall we? I remember when I was a teenager, I went to the shop with my mom and they would wrap up the box or packet of sanitary napkins in a newspaper so that people wouldn't know that we are taking home sanitary napkins! But I have a feeling everyone would have known! 

Every woman would get their monthly periods and what is there to be ashamed of? Seriously? And why do boys and men snigger, laugh and make fun of the females when they see us buying sanitary napkins! I'm sure their mothers, wives, sisters and even their daughters would be needing them on a regular basis!

Okay! Hold it! I'm not saying that women should let the entire community know that they've gotten their period! It's personal and no body has to know. However, it's not something we have to be ashamed of! Really! We are biologically programmed like this! It's not because we have a disease or something! 

I remember when I was a teen I went to the shop to buy sanitary napkins. Back then this teasing thing was even worse than now! When we got our periods we were extra cautious because if a guy knew about it, they would laugh and make fun of us! My mom was busy cooking so I went to the shop near our house. This shop is run by two women who are close friends of my mum. When I entered the little shop, there wasn't anyone else in the shop, so I quickly told the woman that I wanted sanitary napkins and please pack it in newspaper! I wanted to get out before anyone else walked in, so I asked her to hurry too!

Just as I finished my sentence, a guy walked into the shop followed by another neighbour who happened to be my mom's friend. You wouldn't believe what the shopkeeper and her mother did! They told the guy that I was there to buy sanitary napkins and I've asked them to pack it so that no one would know! I wanted to vanish into thin air or hoped the ground would swallow me. I was so embarrassed and wanted to cry. But I didn't want these women to know that they've hurt my feelings and I was embarrassed. So I informed them that I didn't want to buy sanitary napkins from their shop and walked out.

Yes, I did cry a river when I got home. I never thought a woman would humiliate me like that and if I were the third woman who entered the shop with that guy, I would have said something because I can't tolerate such behaviour from grown up women. I would have given them a piece of my mind instead of watching a thirteen year old girl get humiliated for buying sanitary napkins.Then again, people are different isn't it?

The next day, this woman asked my mum to fix her dress! And she had the nerve to smile at me as she entered our house!!!

After this incident I thought about what happened and I realized that there was nothing to be ashamed of. So I just looked straight and walked home with sanitary napkins in my hand. Sometimes I ask the shopkeeper to keep the polythene bag and just walk out! If anyone tries to ridicule me, I just raise my eyebrows or simply ask them what was the matter. Yup, this made them uncomfortable and they would look away!

Several years later I went to a shop with my friend and I took a packet sanitary napkins because it was new brand I just wanted to check it out. My friend also took a packet to check it out. Once we came out of the shop, my friend confessed that she would never have touched a pack of sanitary napkins if she were alone! I was really curios and asked her what she did when she got her monthlys' and she said that her maid would get them for her. She is married and she is an adult but still she felt uneasy to even touch a box of sanitary napkins in shopping marts!

Last year during Ramadan my younger sister was standing in queue to pay for a pack of sanitary napkins. A middle aged bald man was standing behind her and he was sniggering like a moron. When she turned, he smiled at her slyly and she said that the shop assistant who happened to be a very young girl looked uncomfortable. When she turned back, she heard him giggle like a girl and this annoyed her. So she turned around and pointed at the pack she was holding asked him, "Haven't you seen this before?" The shop assistant laughed out loudly and the middle aged man's eyes remained glued to the floor after that. Serves him right!

I think people are not so ignorant anymore and most girls would just walk into the shops and come out with their arms full of sanitary napkins without feeling shy if they wanted to! I would and you all should because there is nothing wrong about buying them and let the baboons laugh if they want to! 

Ainy's Birthday Party

Maleesha and Ainy

Firstly, let me start by introducing Ainy. She's my daughter's best friend. Whoever have said that little girls are made of sugar and and spice and everything that's nice must have known or met a girl like Ainy because that describes her from head to toe!

They've been in the same class in preschool for four years and I'm sure you can imagine how chummy they must have been. On her birthday Maly called and they talked on the phone for a while. After she hung up, Ainy called again and they chatted for a long time. Her birthday party was on Friday and Maly was so excited. 

So from Sunday to Thursday, the first thing she would ask me every morning was, "Mom, is today Friday? Can we go to Ainy's birthday party?"

And every morning I had to tell her that it was not Friday and she had to wait for a wee  bit more and she would look dissapointed! So to cheer her up, we counted the number of days together. Oh yes, it did work and she would get ready to go to school in a more cheerful mood because she was looking forward to Ainy's birthday party. 

When Maly was in Play School, she used to come home and tell us about Ainy. I was really glad that she had a friend in class. A few days later I met Ainy's mom and apparently, Ainy spoke of Maly too! 

Ainy and Maly are so different. Maly is boisterous and Ainy is quiet. However, when they've been best friends in preschool. I suppose opposites do attract after all. 

I remember the first time I saw Ainy and Niam. It was the orientation day back in 2010. The Principal, preschool coordinator and the teachers met all the parents and kids in their classroom. Niam and Ainy were sitting near us but I don't suppose she would remember us because we were strangers back then! Ainy was so chubby and cute. She looked like a little doll. And Niam looked like a teenager! I thought, "What a young mother!" She hasn't changed a bit and still looks like a fifteen year old high school girl. Seriously! She can wear a CHSE or Villa High School uniform and attend classes and no one would have any idea that she is an impostor.  

We (Niam and I) used to dress up Maly and Ainy in identical out fits for special days. It was so much fun. I really miss calling her up asking about misplaced notices from teachers and preparing them for special days.

Ainy and her mom (Niam)

Like Ainy, Niam is also soft spoken and really nice. She has the biggest heart of all and she's one of the nicest person I know. I never thought that someone like her would be so kind to someone as simple as me. Because in real life, people of her status would never look at people of our class twice and Niam is just the opposite. If there were more Niams', I tell you...this world would be a more happy and beautiful place for all of us to share and I'd always pray for her to be happy and prosperous forever and ever.

Last year, towards the end of the year, Maly and Ainy went to the same tuition class and this is exactly when I knew what a lovely friend Ainy was to my daughter. Maly's tuition teacher told me how Ainy looked out for Maly all the time. She was like her guardian angel and I was so happy that this little angel had been there for my little girl all this time. So, Ainy was not just Maly's best friend, from that moment on wards, she became a very special girl for me as well. 

So you see, Ainy's birthday party was something we both looked forward to because we've missed Ainy and Niam. Maly wanted to get some fairy wand thing for Ainy and my husband had to search all the shops in Male'! Finally Maly agreed to buy something else! Lucky him!

From morning till the afternoon, she kept on asking me, "Mom, is it time to go the party yet?" Yes, finally it was time to got to the party and we had a blast! Well, at least the kids did! I had to chase my one year old hyper ball in the party! Maly had fun with Ainy and  her old classmates from preschool. The kids had super fun and that made my day.

Happy Birthday Altho

Altho is now almost as tall as his brother in laws!

Yesterday was my younger brother's birthday. He just turned 18! I remember the first time I saw him. He was so tiny and red! When I peered into the tiny cot, he lazily stretched his arms and legs. I wanted to pick him up but didn't because he was so tiny and I was scared! He was so adorable. 

I remember the taxi ride to the hospital. We were so excited to meet our little brother. My sisters and I, plus my uncle's wife and their two kids, and my step-grandmother and her two kids got into just ONE taxi! Let me help you to illustrate a fine image of all of us in the taxi for you. Have you seen Yoosay's drama where he takes the tourists to see the zoo? Oh yes, that's exactly what it was like in the taxi! The taxi driver just looked at us his eyes nearly popping out. At the back, there were 2 adults and a teenager (me) and 4 kids. In the front seat sat my sister Shifa and Beebi! On the way, we were all talking at the same time because we were so excited and the little ones would whine or shout! 

My sisters and I were really happy and my parents were also very pleased with new addition. We used to play with him, feed him and go for long walks! How time flies! Now he is taller than me and has beard too! Luckily doesn't grow his beard! YET!  

I'm really happy that he is all grown up and proud too. No matter how old you get , you will always be our LITTLE BROTHER! And we love you so much.