April 26, 2010

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson: I loved this book. I was so inspired that a man can give up so much and have such a passion for helping out people who live thousands of miles away from him, who have no ‘physical’ connection to him.  Give up his home?!  Not just his cup of Starbucks, but his home!  Amazing. Here was a scene from the book that really touched a chord with me. When Mortenson returned to Korphe... Read more

April 22, 2010

Oh Eye! Others have eyes and Allah is the All-Seer and All- Knower of hearts and Conditioner of them. I often think of things to write about but when I saw the “When I See a Mother”…forum entry (posted from the Holistic Mama blog on the GrowMama forum), this was an opportunity timely and close to my heart. Women are delicate beings who at times judge others harshly but wish not to be judged harshly. We can be self-centered and... Read more

April 19, 2010

Part III You don’t. You look in your bag and Allah will provide. So I told her Mama would look in the diaper bag, and what did I find? A long-forgotten container of cheerios and raisins. I was so happy I shrieked out that I had found cheerios and raisins, can you believe it girls? I found cheerios and raisins!! Everyone in the room looked at me, but I was so happy I didn’t care, and the girls feasted on... Read more

April 17, 2010

Part I Part II My mind goes blank. I see a Muslim brother and ask him if the masjid has any other kind of payment machine, like a debit card machine, or something. He says that’s all they have. A voice from inside calls to see what the problem is. Another voice answers that the woman needs money for an embassy and she has kids. They tsk away, saying that the nearest one is on 24th and California. No, another... Read more

April 15, 2010

Part I Did I ever tell you how much I hate taking care of official business? I grew up in Saudi Arabia, where going to the bank, getting papers signed at the consulate, renewing passports, and getting visas were all my father’s job. It never occurred to me that one day I’d have to do that kind of thing. Well, today I had to pay a visit to an embassy in D.C., and I took my two 19-month-old girls with... Read more

April 11, 2010

I’m a full time working mother and wife. My alarm goes off at 6:15 am every morning, and ironically my 11 month old is sitting upright in his crib ready for action at 6:18 am. Note, even if I get up earlier or later, within 3 minutes, he is too. So I attend to him first. I change his diaper, dress him up, give him some milk, then pass him on to his father so that I can get ready.... Read more

April 7, 2010

There are plenty of large and fancy shopping malls located in Jeddah, but the biggest and most extravagant are the ones in the northern part of the city where most of the wealthy families live. A couple of these malls happen to be near my daughter Maryam’s home, so she goes there for grocery and other shopping. With seven children and ten mouths to feed at home, you can imagine that Maryam has to shop frequently, and she’s quite familiar... Read more

April 2, 2010

Part III Well, ALHAMDULLILLAH, I didn’t have to do a second round, because I became pregnant. Alhamdullillah. I was now having ultrasounds done almost weekly and I will never forget when I saw the heartbeat on the screen. My doctor said to me, “It looks like we got it right this time!” With every week that passed and no miscarriage, my doctor was feeling more and more assured that this pregnancy was healthy. After my first trimester passed, she transferred... Read more

April 1, 2010

Part II At my follow-up appointment where we would discuss our options, my doctor mentioned to me that this radiological procedure which I had done was not always 100% accurate. She wanted to perform a surgery on me which would be for completely diagnostic purposes; to either confirm the results of the radiological procedure or to adjust the diagnosis. I went through with the surgery, and lo and behold-my tubes were fine!! I was confused, but relieved. Around this same... Read more

March 29, 2010

When I got married at 19 years old, I didn’t expect or even plan on trying to have children right away. I was in college and my husband was just starting his career here in the US. But as a result of a routine doctor appointment, I happen to find out that I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)-a condition that would make it very difficult for us to conceive, we were told (and that doctor was right). So, even though... Read more


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