Gossai Aljabri Photography at Amman Street Art Fair

In his page on facebook, this is what Gossai Aljabri has to say:

"What am trying to do here

is to bring to your attention the joy of a moment missed by a minor distraction, or by a regularity of a scene, as we always miss lots of beauty in every thing that a glimpse of a light shines over, even when staring right at it...

so i try to capture these moments, utilize whatever i have for that purpose.
Hope you enjoy them as much as i do...:) "

Please have a look at his page and check out the brilliant pictures he's taken. A photographer by nature!
These days at #AmmanStreetArtFair you can visit his booth, where he displays/sells his artistic and creative work.
 

I have a sister~I'm fortunate!

Summer 2010, Mariyah had no idea that her life will be turned upside down once her baby sister arrives to her world. Non of us had a clue of what kind of life to expect. That's the best part of adding a new member to the group.

The very first meeting was full of emotions. Mariyah totally believed that Selma is her new moving doll. She was so excited and thrilled.

She was jealous of course but never in a harmful way. She thought and still thinks that she owns Selma. Selma is hers and she is the one who could take care of her. She insists on feeding her from her plate or simply share her sippy cup.

She believes she's the one who taught her how to walk and how to dance. I tried my best to include Mariyah in anyway possible in the process of taking care of Selma. Mariyah was responsible of getting a new Diaper for her sister. was responsible of keeping Selma's socks on, patting her back to burp her and some other tiny responsibilities and she loved it and felt like a grown up.

Everyone feels bad for Selma though, simply because they think that Mariyah is the trouble maker and that she's controlling Selma's life and also because of the facial expressions of both girls...

LOOK!

Those who are close to me kept assuring me that there will come a time where both girls would become best friends and that the bond between them might get stronger than their bond with me. Should I worry?

I have 3 sisters myself and I remember how at a certain stage of life my sister became closer to me than my Mom!
**Mama is the closest to me now, so it's going to be alright :)

My question was always...When? When would they start playing together? When would they start enjoying time together especially when I'm too tired to take them out. Will they be able to entertain each other and give me sometime to relax?

There were two answers to this questions...
The first answer: Once Selma starts crawling.
The second was: Once Selma starts walking.

I couldn't wait for the first! Selma crawled later than I hoped but still...Mariyah was not interested in playing with Selma...She was actually jealous of her sis she started crawling herself!

Now, that Selma is walking it's happening!
They play & laugh like there's nobody watching :)

And Selma's personality is changing a lot. She doesn't want to be treated like a baby sister anymore...She Thinks she can do whatever she wants...Bye Bye innocence!

She enjoys pulling Mariyah's hair. She knows it makes Mariyah cry and she knows Mariyah won't harm her or hurt her back so she simply enjoys it! The best part of the whole thing is that both of them forget the hurt and pain really quick they get back to playing in a blink of an eye :)

Now, she follows Mariyah everywhere! Mariyah can't wait for her sister to nap so we could read together in peace...
So she could color and paint in peace...
So she could go for a swim in peace...
So she could watch her favourite Dinosaurs cartoon in peace.

Being a baby sister is not easy at all!
Being a mother of partners in mischief is not easy at all...

But it's a life full of fun, laughter and forgiveness,
The day I tweeted about it was the day I decided to post this...I'm becoming a lazy blogger, but...it's Ramadan!

@supernido

It's amazing how kids can easily forgive and forget! I wish I can be as pure and innocent as my little girls...
Aug. 7

 Al hamdulillah :)

Mariyah~Saurus

Some people might be against the idea of teaching kids about Dinosaurs. They don't exist anymore, so why bother!
 I myself was one of those people. I used to hear Jeeej mentioning their long names for a reason or another and I would wonder...Why? Why would he be interested in them...He told me once that he learnt everything he knows about them at school when he was little.

I learnt nothing about them at schools!
Now, I wonder why haven't we?!
They are so much fun!

With Mariyah, it all started when Jeeej was picking a nice movie for her to watch on Netflix one weekend. He thought about/searched for the movie "The Land Before Time". At first she didn't know what she was watching and then she started falling in love with the characters. Her favourites are Little foot and Sarah.

Then in one of our visits to the bookstore she discovered the dinosaurs section and started playing with the stuffed dinosaurs on the shelves and of course she named them Sarah, Sarah's father, Little foot and his grandfather...but a 5 year old boy was there and he started correcting her. He started saying the real names and Mariyah didn't like it...I was amazed myself by all the knowledge he's got!
Remember,,,I knew nothing about dinosaurs!

The little boy's dad was there and he told me that his son was Mariyah's age when he started learning about them...He suggested we watch "Dinosaur Train" and then he suggested the dinosaur museum in Berkeley University.

On our way back home that day Mariyah cried. I still remember what she said when she cried. She said: "I don't like the boy at the library. How come he knows and I don't!"

The next day she watched a couple of episodes of the "Dinosaur Train" and then later on I got her the Dinosaur book.

I am amazed by how fast she's learning about them. Their names and what they eat...who flies and who swims in the oceans.

We took her to the museum of course and it was a big surprise for her. She didn't know they'd be THAT big! The skeletons were way bigger than she'd ever imagined. Now she knows...a lot.
Now, when we go to Target every weekend, all she wants is a dinosaur. All she wants to read about is Dinosaurs. All she paints are dinosaurs!

Baby Long Neck
Mama Long Neck
Baba Long Neck
........ Long Neck

She even started coming up with names for dinosaurs
Like...TomorrowSaurus!

Meet My Little MariyahSaurus :)



* It took me so much time to shoot this video. I did it last Monday right after she came back from her Gymnastics class, while Baby Selma was napping.

And...We're done ;)

Benga, Selma Says!

We should have named you Selma Butter Ball Salamonti.
But you were almost 20 days late in showing up,
so we were too tired to give you such a long name

We couldn't wait to have you meet your big sister at home,
so we left the hospital a few hours after you were born!

You Bubbly baby,
Became irresistible! We didn't want you to sleep at all...

You Naughty one didn't want US to sleep at all!

But we didn't care, because you brightened up our
 days & nights...

You bring joy and love to any one's heart!
 Your facial expressions are priceless,
they say it all...

They say Benga & Bagen and that's all...

You tell me you love me, you tell me you're sad, happy or mad!
You tell me you miss me and how hungry you are...

You tell me you need a diaper change and you ask me to rub your tummy
and play with your hair :)

You ask for a kiss and you bite my lips...and shoulders and knees too!

You drive Mariyah crazy when you pull her hair...

You ask for a bath and for a swim...
 you cry for so many teeth are in a hurry!

You ask for hugs, cuddling and more cuddling
And you always always get them!
Who can ever say: "NO"?

Salamonti...You are ONE!
We love you, and even though all you say is BENGA & BAGEN
We understand you and know you well...

One last whisper in your ear:
Whenever I ask you to grow up fast so I could relax more...
I don't mean it! AT ALL,,,
Stay perfect...Just the way you are.

Al hamdulillah :)

Why I picked Hawaii...

When we were still a small family it was easier to travel more than once a year and enjoy vacations. It was easier financially. Now that we are a family of four planning became harder. Now we have to think about the budget, the location, the "to do" lists and the right place to stay at. It's not easy but so far my Jeeej has never failed us. People joke about it sometimes and wonder if he could have his own office for finding great deals online.

Most of my married relatives and friends in Amman travel to different countries during Summer. They always enjoy it and of course they all need it. I need it too, a vacation I mean. So, where do I go every single year?
Yep, To Amman!

This year, Jeeej said to me: you can go to Amman every single year for a vacation but you won't be able to go anywhere else. Simply because we take a long time off to stay there longer and then the tickets and costs -Shopping here and having fun there- are too expensive.

To be honest, Now when I think of Amman I think of my family and my close friends only. Nothing else! I'm sorry but year after another I find it hard to enjoy time there, neither indoors nor outdoors. Not even in an open cafe. Blue Fig is excluded ;)

Traffic, indoor smoking -not good for my girls-, bad customer service, expensive everything, people staring and not minding their own business & rejection for your looks -Hijabi in my case- and some other reasons too.

This year I was lucky I had mama come over for a few days and tomorrow we have Jeeej's sweet sister coming to visit from Alabama along with her 3 kids. Then some more relatives are coming over too. You see, I'm getting the right amount of family dose to keep me away from feeling home sick.

This year, it was all up to me. He said it's either Amman Or Maui, Hawaii...

So guess what I picked?


Deciding on the right activity for all of us was quite challenging



It wasn't easy but we managed to have fun!

So much fun :)

We went hiking

A nice and kids' friendly trail...



It took us 3 times to become a professional beach family  



Food was great!

The private pool by the house we rented was just perfect for calm days

The 6 hours trip on the ferry was so special, we got to swim/snorkel in the middle of the Pacific ocean and watch the dolphins spinning and we had a great BBQ for lunch on the boat as well!

We got to wear our very colorful outfits and it felt just right!

The tips I received upon request from a fellow blogger were so helpful. I felt great wearing the right thing every single day :) I even recieved compliments on my outfits & also on my new Hijabi swim suit

The weather in Maui was beautiful and I can't wait to go there again :)

Alhamdulillah :)

Introducing Arabic Books for Kids, Proudly!.

Growing up in the eighties, I remember enjoying the Arabic books published by "Al-maktabah Al-khadra'". I read the stories until I memorized them. But then I wasn't a good reader, I mean reading wasn't a passion. It got better in high school though, until it became a hobby during my years at the university.

I'm not here to talk about my experience, I'm here to talk about my Mariyah's.
 Living in the states makes the whole idea of introducing her to books so easy and full of fun. When it comes to advices and encouragement I read 7aki fadi's blog and follow @Ala` Awaysheh. They are both mothers who are obsessed with reading and have smart kids who share the same passion for books. I'm lucky their kids are older than mine so I can ask them whatever question I have and they're always happy to answer.

We read at home and play/read at the bookstore, we attend Story Telling there too! One of her favourite places to go to...

Most of the English books Mariyah has were given to her as gifts by mothers or friends who have read the same books when they were little.
 I told you we're lucky ;)

Reading to her -and to baby Selma now- is something sacred. I make sure I read to them both at separate times, and sometimes together.
Mariyah loves reading and memorizing whole pages from different books. She "helps" me reading and she "fixes" my mistakes too. That kind of fun.

Her "time out" these days is saying: "I'm reading you one book or two tonight at bedtime instead of three".

Then at some point Teaching her the Arabic alphabets was not enough. I always wondered how I could make her enjoy the language and actually love it and be proud of it and it's beauty. I had in mind that once she turns 5 I'm going to get her the Jordanian schools' Arabic curriculum books.

And then something beautiful happened!

Through Twitter I was guided to @Kalimat Publishing and looking through their website's pages made me fall in love with their books and made me wonder why we weren't this lucky when we were kids.

I mean Look...

I got her this book because her favourite color is Blue. Because she is obsessed with dresses and glittery shoes and because she still remembers how great Eid was here.

I got her this book because tomorrow she'll go to her first Ballet class at the community center and because I'm scared she won't enjoy it although she doesn't stop talking about how excited she is about it...We'll see how that goes :)

I got her this book because she LOVES the moon. She is the happiest when she spots it during day time, I mean in daylight. She knows that once the moon is up, it's time to sleep and when the sun is up she knows the moon goes to Amman and so tete has to go to bed.

Aaaaand I got her this one, this particular one for a very VERY special occasion that I won't talk about here now...But I will do so soon soon insha'Allah :)

You see, these books worth a lot. She enjoys reading her book over and over and OVER again! She only knows about the 1st book so far. I'm giving her the second one as a gift tomorrow after her Ballet class.
They also worth a lot because the shipment from Lebanon was really costly. But to be honest, it's all worth it. The books themselves are really affordable. The material they're made of and the drawings/coloring, the simple and fun stories, the finishing, the covers...everything about them is beautiful. All four of them in fact.

I'm just glad I got them and I'm glad my little girl loves her book about the blue shoes. She asked us about دولاب الهواء، السكاكر و الأراجيح so we simply took her to San Mateo County Fair where she experienced the whole thing "Dima" from the book had. Now she can't wait for Eid!

Neither can I. Because I promised her a beautiful pair of blue shoes for next Eid...

Presence OR Presents?

I read an article a few days ago about the differences between a life with a working mother and another with a stay at home mother. One of the sentences that I liked was: Your kids need your presence, not your presents.

 The article reminded me about how lucky I am to be around my girls watching them growing. Watching miracles in front of my eyes, every single day.
Leaving them both at the daycare for 2 hours every single day aches my heart and I find myself running back to them to pick them up.

The report I get from the babysitter is short, Too short compared to the ones she gives to other parents when they pick up their kids. You see, those parents leave their kids there from 8 am to 6 pm.
I don't want to go into details and I'm judging no one, because I know that a lot of mothers need to work full time jobs for many different reasons. I don't want to be talking about this here. All I want to mention is that I feel blessed and happy when me and Jeeej fight over who discovered this about Selma or that about Mariyah first.

It gets serious sometimes :p

Who discovered the 1st smile. The 1st tooth. The second tooth...the 3rd...it keeps going...
Who heard the first word -which is Baba by the way, no matter how hard you try :(.
Who saw her crawling first and then the 1st step or two...

Yes...Selma is walking now...she takes up to 10 steps at a time and she is our Butter Ball :) The 1st time she walked "perfectly" was on June.14th. But then it was official on the 15th. When I called Jeeej to tease him that I saw her walking first, I knew he was going to get jealous and I heard it his voice. He couldn't wait to get back home from work to see her and then tell me: "It was me who taught her!".

It's fun, it really is :)
It is hard as well. Especially if you have no one to help but your partner. But I can't imagine my life differently. I wouldn't want anyone to steel these precious moments from me.

Today I found this picture. I took it when my mom visited earlier this month.

Posting it reminds of all the beautiful talks me and mama had about motherhood ever since I became a mother :)
May Allah bless all mothers and give them the power and the will to give their best to their kids.

Tempted to Compare

As far as I remember, I never heard my mom or dad compare between me and any of my sisters. They never compared me to a friend, that I am sure about. I grew up and turned out to be different from the rest.
That was expected and accepted.

Now that I have 2 girls of my own with 2 years difference, I can't help but compare. I don't do it loudly. Non of them hear it or even feel it.
I find myself saying: This one said that first. That one crawled earlier. This one's skin is clearer. This one ate that faster.
Silly stuff I know...but I'm scared it might get serious at some point and I actually don't want to hurt their feelings one day. They are both sensitive and I love them the same and I love the differences between them. I love the fact that each one is unique the way she is. It would be boring if they were both the same, right?

So there...
I MUST STOP!
But, My Dear Friends...

THIS:




This thing...this one thing I can't stop myself from talking about...

Mariyah has NEVER EVER done this!
She was actually shocked when she saw Selma right there. She was speechless. I was so scared when I saw my baby standing there. She did it so quick while I was unloading the dishwasher. She climbed and stood up and started shaking the rack. I took a picture by my cell and sent it to Jeeej right away.

Now, since we're on the subject,
Selma is almost walking and she is a fast crawler. She climbs on everything. Today she discovered that she can "drive" a chair around the living room. She is so loud and she puts everything in her mouth. EVERYTHING!

Today, she ate some of my cactus plant.
Mariyah was not like that ;)

I hope I won't do this again. I must stop!

This is what Mariyah did when she was one year old :)