"Moi, j'aime la glace a la fraise!"

 watching so many episodes of "Dora at the Beach" and many other summer-dedicated cartoons, Ghadi got obsessed by the Ice cream idea.

I tried to keep him away from this hyper-delicious summer treat, but since two weeks now he keeps repeating the same dialogue:

"maman, moi j'aime la glace a la fra-a-a-a-a-ise, toi tu aimes la glace comment?"

and I reply:

"au chocolat"

Then he repeats same question and keep asking his father, his grandmother, everybody. 

Plus, he was seeking the "cornet" shape all around, making a feast about it.

So, two days ago, though I was completely tired, I informed Jamil that khalass, we should take him out and bring him real cornet from Bliss, the best Ice-cream maker in Beirut ever.

We had our Iftar, then we headed directly to Hamra.

well, I may try to describe Ghadi's reaction, but i will surely fail.

Only people who were there may realize how happy he was. He was jumping on the sidewalk, dancing, yelling, and it was ama-a-a-a-zing!!!!

Ramadan 2010

Yes, finally the best month of the year!

Welcome Ramadan

At this Month everyone of us has his own habits…

I, personally, have a mixture of feelings at every Ramadan beginning.

I may not be able to describe it…

It’s just a kind of enlightenment

A great relieve

As if more air is entering my lungs suddenly

As if my thoughts have just became so clear

I tend to think a lot

I become much calmer and much more reasonable…

This is why I take benefit and I try to evaluate everything            

My achievements, my failures, my decisions

The inner Peace this month is bringing is just too enormous to be explained by words

I hope this peace will be upon all believers everywhere.

And Ramadan Karim to everybody

I just cannot resist posting some of the amazing “Ramadan photos”

From the Big Picture-Boston.com about this month everywhere around the globe.

 Visually impaired Palestinian students read verses of the Koran, Islam's holiest book, written in Braille, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Al-Qabas Islamic school in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) 

 Muslim women attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia on August 31, 2008. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas) 

  

Muslim children pray at a mosque during the month of Ramadan in Manila, in the Philippines on August 23, 2009. (JUNIE DOCTOR/AFP/Getty Images) 

For more photos :

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/observing_ramadan.html

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/ramadan_2009.html

"Shou ra7 Baba?"

It’s been long time I didn’t post...

Maybe it’s because I was overwhelmed by the visit of my sisters.

6 weeks of non-stop action, long evenings, gatherings and hanging out

Plus the 8 hours working each day

I can say: that was not easy at all!

But it was fun indeed

I had moments with kids which will last forever!

My nieces are getting so adorable and my nephew is much more mature than the last vacation…

The world cup made all this just crazier

So back to normal life

To my social life !

To my books and my kiddo

What urged me to write today are those questions he started to ask and I didn’t want to let it pass without mentioning it!

After all, he’s the center of my blog, and someday I want him to read it and laugh, and cry and appreciate our moments, and forgive my tired eyes, and understand my ups and downs and tempers…

 He woke up on Sunday,

And asked the usual question: “today we have to go to nursery?”

And I replied, as usual: “no! today it’s Sunday”

Then comes the unusual: he said: “ tab el yom shou rayhin??? = today what are we going then?”

Oh my heart melted and I had a sudden feeling that we hit a milestone today!

Then Jamil went out, and Ghadi was singing the questions : “shou ra7 baba?”, “ he went to get some stuff = ra7 yjib ghrad”, I answered… “shou ra7 yjib ghrad?”

I loved those questions and I’m really looking forward to the harder ones which require more effort to answer.

Serena's visit

yes, Serena, who is just 45 days old visited us with her parents last Saturday!
she is so cute!
and I couldn't get enough photos of her!
Ghadi was so cooperative and he loved her, and accepted to kiss her tiny hand...
but the moment i calle dher "katkouta" he jumped in front of me and yelled: nooooo, ana katkouta!
and this is right, sometimes i do call him "katkout" as nick name
so i agreed with him and we instantly thought together of another nickname (the only name that hit my head was batbouta! silly i know, but i was trying to save the situation!)
I loved his reaction and I do respect his point!
and here are few shots of  baby Serena!

Zeina is 1 year old!

Our neighbor, the lil princess Zeina B. turned one year old!
she was so cute, overwhelmed by the balloons, the guests, the cake,
she clapped her hands all the time smiling, and I enjoyed shooting her:

Beach, Water & a LOT of Fun!

Yesterday we went to the beach with my sister and her kids...
The fun we had, or better said, the fun Ghadi had can not be written or described, it was such a hilarious day and we all enjoyed it!
Ghadi is much more courageous, he was playing alone in the pool, he climbed the ladder, jumped into the water, first with the help of my magnificent nieces and nephew, then by his own...
thanks to S., R., and R. I managed to lay down all the day, enjoying the lazy sun, watching him play, without having to run after him ALL the time!

Mid-Week-Photo 005

Ouyoun Elsamak- July 2010

Bike, Helmet, & Sun Glasses... My charming rider!

Too calm to be true: my angel!

During a long-urgent- shopping attack for Jamil last Monday, Ghadi proved to be a calm, supporting lovely 2.8 years old boy!

Even while I’m writing this I find it hard to believe!

Yet though all our fears  and expected scenes like: leaving the shop with/out buying ANYTHING, or singing out loud as to hide his continuous nagging and his nonstop request to leave the trolley, and subsequently  running after him between clothes racks endlessly, etc, etc…

It was just the opposite!

Reading, laughing and talking to the funny salesmen, I couldn’t help rewarding this angle by a Huge hug as soon as i got home!

Sarah B.'s visit!

Last week Sarah.B. visited us with her parents

Sarah was born 4 days after Ghadi

Her mom and I had so much fun during our pregnancy time, comparing our bellies, sharing our first emotions; and during the struggles of the first 2 years it was so relieving to exchange our experiences.

Ghadi was welcoming, friendly and he let her play with him… 

after a while, we heard voices from his playroom…

we sneaked...

She was sitting facing him, and he was holding his favorite book, reading her a story…

It was soooooo nice and heart warming!

A trip to the north- Ouyoun El Samak!

Last Sunday jamil’s cousin organized a trip to “Ouyoun Elsamak”, (springs of fishes-would be the literal translation!?)

The place is about half hour from Tripoli... it's situated just after "Elnabi Yousha3" village.

when we arrived, the beauty and the peaceful nature was overwhelming!

It’s been a long time since I sat at a cascade, hearing the sound of  falling stream , feeling the drops of fresh water hitting my face and my body! 

It was Hilarious!

I would have posted 100 photos

But I’d rather reduce the selection to less than 20! 

Ghadi’s first dream coming true, was the simple fact of traveling in the bus!

He always gazes at school buses and I’m sure that spending two hours in the bus was the best part of the day for him!

The narrow road leading towards the valley was a bit scary…in fact, too scary!

But  the views of the lake were breathtaking and somehow it distracted us.

As we arrived we had to cross an old steel bridge, which was so exciting  for Ghadi as well!

then the falling water embraced us with a fresh breeze and a loud manifestation declaring its presence.

 we had a peaceful walk in the surrounding nature

Ghadi took us this photo…

 not bad at all for a barely 3 years old!

OK, I DID some editing here, but not cropping!

Ghadi was so happy, surrounded by his cousins and getting all the attention he needs!

then just before we left he discovered the weird sensation of throwing stones into the running river below

so he started the procedure of collecting pebbles,

and throwing pebbles!

this lasted more than one hour,

until we announced we were leaving,

then he insisted on keeping one stone in his hand and did not let it go until he fell asleep in the bus on the way back!

Thank you God for granting us the chance to see the beauty of your creation

Thank you Mira for this nice family's day out

Thank you Jamil for being so helpful and supportive running after Ghadi all day long!

Memories vs. dimensions!

Hearing about the  3D movies makes me think (and really think) about all this fuss of new dimension…

And it takes me back to my university years at KHB when we had to do an assignment about projecting a 2D project into a 3D presentation

My concept was about time/memory

Memory has always intrigued me and its structure is so mystic

Scientists proclaim they have deshiphered its mechanism

But still it amazes me

How a song, a perfume, a scent or even a sound may evoke hundreds of memories we thought they were buried deep in the bottom

And suddenly they come up to the surface

and we find ourselves driven by a flood of unpredicted emotions...
and we re-live the moment!

How can u measure a memory? Which dimension shall we use?

Old vs. new? So when it comes back, is it old anymore?

Big vs. small? Minor vs. major?

What if we project all our memories on a giant blank wall…

How would it look like?

What would be the dominant color?

What music shall be playing in the background?

What would be on the top?

I promise when I do it, I’ll show you the results!