Ballet Recital

 A perfect start to Mother's Day weekend this year was attending Z's ballet recital. Z has been doing ballet for a semester now and she loves it. She anxiously waits for Wednesday and is most sad at the end of her class. We were a bit anxious as to Z's stage nerves. She seemed excited in the week leading up to the show but with a three-year old, it's sometimes hard to tell what their excitement will translate to in front of an audience. She was awesome - she seemed to be enjoying herself on stage and actually performed, following her teacher's cues!

Her teacher, Jeanelle is super awesome! She is almost full term pregnant and still teaching a handful of classes and she put together an awesome show! I can only imagine what goes into hosting/organizing a performance with kids aged 3-8.

We celebrated with a sushi dinner and mango ice cream...

Easter Weekend Memories...

We took a short trip with A's family for a couple of days over the Easter weekend to the lovely town of Collingwood. The Blue Mountain village was festive; we enjoyed an outdoor concert, chocolate covered apples and Beaver Tails. Z had a great time with her cousins and enjoyed the music while basking in the sun.

Illuminite

 

 

I cannot believe we're approaching the end of this year already. Where did it go? I know I say this almost every year, but really, this year went by really fast!

We took Z to Illuminite yesterday, the annual tree-lighting event at Yonge-Dundas in downtown Toronto. Even though we missed the firethrowers and the laser show, Z enjoyed the walk, the lights and the quiet time with A and I.

 

Z was fascinated by the lights but could not understand why they were not thead (red), her favourite colour. She loved running around the square and all the attention she was getting from passer-bys.

 

We stopped by at Salad King, our favourite Thai-on-the-go place (A and I have never ever enjoyed a meal there together). Z enjoyed herself sans high-chair, with the spoons and the songs that we were asked to sing to her on demand. 

As I was watching A entertain Z, I thought it's so simple really to make a child happy; a little bit of attention, some love, some music and crayons. Z has been a simple child from get-go, as long as kept her away from crowds and put her early to bed, she's been happy. Ofcourse, as a 20-month old, she now loves people (much like her father) and tries to fight off sleep as long as possible. I've definitely been missing my morning time with her on the weekdays but watching her with A, seeing their relationship grow (due to more of him and less of me) makes my heart tingle! I sometimes think it's me and not her, who's having a hard time letting go.

And as promised to Z, we finished the night off with Wanda's Waffles, a tiny Belgian waffle cafe, run by a father and son team.

Such a perfect Saturday night!

My first week as GradschoolMom...

Last week was an extremely busy week, such that I did not even get to check email everday. Any that has NEVER happened! EVER!

I survived my first week as a gradschoolMom. I'm absolutely loving it - the people are inspiration-ally brilliant, the place is eclectic and old (I'm a sucker for all things old!) and the topic (design) is close to heart! What more could I ask for? Just a little more time with Z! I do miss spending every waking moment with her *sigh*. Her transition has been exceptional; she's been patient with her tired mom (I get a lot of hugs, kisses and cuddles when I get home), accommodating and just plain awesome!

A's been a super-dad and a super-super-super partner... We enjoyed home-made bread, courtesy of A and other yummilicious home-cooked food (have I mentioned that A is baker and chef extraordinaire?).. Life's been busy-good...

We enjoyed a quiet weekend - neighbourhood strolls, visits to the grandparents and catching up on sleep! Hope you're weekend was fabulous and your Monday wasn't too blue!

And A got me a gift.. isn't it pretty?

the non-blog entry week & other happenings...

I haven't blogged in over a week now, simply because it has been a crazy busy week. Last weekend was thanksgiving weekend in Canada and we enjoyed a great couple of days with family and friends. Our dear friends Nikki (baker extraordinaire) and Omar (chef extraordinaire) hosted an intimate dinner for Sana's family and ours. As always, the menu was simple and the food, par excellence.

On the menu:
Bite-sized pitas with eggplant chutney from Sue's
Pecan and peppers green salad (I will share the recipe this week, I tried it out for a dinner at my mil's and I got a lot of compliments!)
Italian bread with garlic butter
Mashed potatoes with beef gravy
Turkey with your choice of cranberry sauce or pepper sauce

For desert, Nikki had baked the most decadent chocolate cake I've ever eaten. It was soft, moist and it melted in your mouth and the best part is, prep time is only 15 minutes.

This week started off rather well because A and I enjoyed date night #2 on Tuesday. We watched Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's documentary Children of the Taliban at the beautiful University of Toronto campus downtown. Just being at this campus makes me want to start school again - it envelopes you in this rich academic bubble!
The documentary screening was extra-special since I got to meet Sharmeen herself! I've been wanting to meet her ever since I interviewed her for The Grind Magazine a couple of years ago. She is as charming in person as she was over the phone! It was such a pleasure!

I've also been prepping for fall - putting the summer flip flops away and bringing in the boots and coats. This normally mundane activity was a ton of fun because Z participated. Our morning walks have come to a halt because the weather's been dangerously low unfortunately. I think winter's come knocking at our door rather early this year!

On a positive note, this weekend is really busy and we have a lot of fun things planned :)
And...and.. I'm starting grad school next week. I will be an MA/MFA grad-in-the-making...I'm so excited and a bit anxious too! I hope the transition to student-mom is smooth :)

Zoo Stories

I've never been one for zoos. Even though as a child I have vividly fond memories of my parents taking me to the Dubai Zoo and the Al-Ain Zoo. I love animals but I don't like them caged.

                                                               Z at Dubai Zoo, Jan 2009

Z loves her an-ee-maws (translate animals), so when we were visiting my parents in Dubai earlier this year, I took her to the zoo. Z, at 9 months, was most excited and babbled to all the an-ee-maws that were awake.

June 05, 2008 - given that we live just 5 minutes away from the Toronto Zoo, A and I decided we'd become members and take her once a week, atleast in the summer. Z loved it. Each time we take her to the zoo, she is animated, excited and bouncing of the walls with energy. It's an exhilarating feeling just watching her. I took her today and here's some of the new associations she made.

                

mooz

thead and gween birdie (translate red and green bird) 

                            birdie drinking mani ( translate pani, which means water in urdu)

                                                                    neigh neigh (translate horse)

I'd highly recommend a visit to the Toronto Zoo. It's such a fun way to spend the day!

eid '09

I love Eid - the traditions, the customs, the family, the friends, the food, the eidhi, the gifts. A and I have always celebrated it with passion, trying to create an atmosphere our parents created for us when we were children. It is very different and to a degree, difficult, given that we grew up in Karachi and Dubai.

Since Z was born last year, A and I have tried to create our own family traditions and so Eid this year was ever more exciting. We started the day by going for prayers at the mosque, followed by breakfast with our friends, lunch with my family and dinner with A's family. A and i both have our families here and we're so blessed that Z can spend her holidays with her loved ones.

EId is also about renewal and rejuvenation of the spirit, a time of reflection and resolution. A and I make a list of resolutions every Eid.

This year, we have promised to:
- to make the most of our time
- to cherish each other
- to celebrate each day with Z
- to pursue our dreams; every moment, each day (if it's not something you love, it's not worth doing)
- to not cancel date night and put our relationship first
- to paint silver lines in the clouds
- to smell the flowers
- to go backpacking this year
- to make things happen
- to see the positive, even in the negative
- to find inspiration in simply living
- to make the ordinary, extraordinary...

                                                 our extraordinary, ordinary walk
 

I hope you had a memorable eid....