As a child my parents made us eat everything! We weren’t allowed to say, “I don’t eat/want/like this!” Anything set before us was to be eaten. No excuses!

There was only one thing I could never eat. Mangos! I couldn’t be in the same room when they were around! It was that bad! My stomach would get into a knot and I’d have this uncontrollably urge to just throw up! Matters only got worse as I was growing up! The mere mention of the fruit had me running to the bathroom! Eventually, my parents phased it out when they realized my reaction was not voluntary.

Unfortunately, people who hear me say “I hate mangos” think I’m exaggerating and that I’ve never tried good mango. So they’re always trying to sneak it into my fruit salad or my food! I can tell it’s in there instantly! Cue stomach somersaults! So I started telling people I’m allergic to mangos and haven’t seen them in my food since.

When Mimi started eating solids I slowly introduced all vegetables and fruits. Sadly I didn’t introduce mangos! I tried so hard to plead with someone else to do it while I’m not around, but no one ever did! :(

The greatest shocker was when I introduced my favorite fruit, strawberries, and Mimi refused!! I thought it might be the texture that was turning her off, so I mushed it. Still no! I finally raised it with our pediatrician who told me “Some people’s adamant dislike for a certain food might be an indicator of an allergy! Like people who greatly dislike milk are later revealed to have lactose intolerance! So don’t force your daughter.” And I never will!

Oh my!!! This means I really am allergic to mangos! It’s just that social protocol doesn’t have me running for the bathroom every time they are in my presence. But I still have to mentally escape my surroundings. Yes it’s still thhhhaaaat bad! :(

As a parent you understand your child better than anyone else. If s/he repeatedly refuses a certain food think hard before brushing the situation off as being naggy… It could be allergies!

According to Mimi there’s a very valid reason!

1. I can take a plane to wherever I want to go.
2. The Little Einsteins use Rocket to save people and I’m not good at saving people.
3. I’m good at saving plants, but not people.
4. Since we have plants, I am needed at home to make sure our plants get water and stay alive.

Note that not once did her logic even come close to “we need you, Mommy!” :D Oh my this really is a look into the future, isn’t it? I shall be the plant lady (as opposed to the cat lady) in my old age!!! :/

Faking illness or exaggerating it are staples of a school kid. We all did it as kids!! It’s just funny to be on the receiving end. Even funnier that this is all going to get more exaggerated with each school year. I look forward to see what tricks Mimi will pull out of her hat. :D

Last night Mimi started coughing badly. So Sam and I decided not to send her to school in the morning if the coughing persists. Needless to say the coughing went from badly to almost throwing up because she was over exaggerating! Anything to seal the deal! We finally told her that we’ve decided not to send her to school and she can (in much milder words) “drop the act!”

But of course our little rascal didn’t leave anything up to chance. This morning our usually up at 6 daughter slept all the way until 7:45! She woke up as soon as Sam walked out the door! “Daddy left without me?!” She sadly asked me with that smirky innocent smile. :D I honestly couldn’t help but laugh. That’s what happens when brainy kids are naughty! :D

A chat with a friend yesterday inspired this post. What will you tell your children about Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and other fictional characters?

Last week Mimi asked me about the tooth fairy and here’s how the conversation went.

Me: “The tooth fairy is make believe to help children feel better about losing their teeth.”

Mimi: “Do I still have to put my teeth under her pillow?”

Me: “Only if you want to. Either way, I have a box to put them in so I can save them forever!”

Mimi: “Will I still get coins?” (Thanx to Yo Gabba Gabba for introducing that concept)

Me: “Yes, you’ll still get coins for each tooth you lose. The coins will be from Mom and Dad.”

That seemed to satisfy my curious 4 year old.

On Thursday as we were heading to the Christmas Party at Al Corniche Club, Mimi saw me carry her gift to the car. I told her that this will be the gift Uncle Amr, who will be dressed as Santa Clause, will give her at the party. Yes, I wanted her to know that the gift is from me and not from Santa. She already knows that Santa is not real. :)

One very important factor comes into play according to me, I want my kids to always trust that I tell them the truth. In the end they have complete faith in what I say now. If I had told them black is white and visa versa when they were younger, they would’ve totally believed me and thought everyone else was mistaken. So with that simple example, I refuse to lie to my children because I don’t want to cause any sort of trust issues in the future. I would feel horrible if they came to me in a few years accusing me of lying to them and therefore reevaluating everything else I had told them and taught them. Besides, if I want to teach them to always tell the truth then I should teach by example!

Does this lessen their celebration of a joyous season? I think not! We still seek out christmas trees, parties, Santa visits and so on. We just do it while being as transparent as possible.

Please note that I don’t judge parents who follow a different method, it’s a personal choice and we all have our own way of doing things. I’m just gonna tell you to keep your kids away from mine around Christmas or any other celebration that involves fictitious characters. ;)

Every night we read a book with the kids before they go to bed. Today’s book was “Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory.”

The kids loved the book. Funny enough, the cover of the book says “for curious little monkeys everywhere.” I truly believe this statement was intended for kids like Oullie, who is our curious little monkey!

I found out recently that my grandma has a tradition of making white food on the first day of the Hijra new year. The point is that it symbolizes starting a white page with the beginning of the new year. My own mother didn’t carry on this tradition, but I like the idea so much that I’m reviving it in my family!

So today we had poached eggs with white toast for breakfast.

Taouk for lunch.

And I made riz b 7aleeb (rice cooked in milk) for dessert.

Come to think of it… I like this tradition so much I’m gonna implement for New Year’s Eve too!

May this year be a blessed one for you and your families!

What better way to start a birthday day than with the doorbell ringing and a friend holding cupcakes (red velvet cupcakes!!! My favorite!!!) and a gift from another friend!! I have to admit I did contemplate closing the door since I was still a morning mess. :D

This birthday really proved that wishes do come true if you have the right friends. ;) I’ve been secretly wishing ArtistiqueMum would make me a silk scarf… and today my wish came true thanx to Aloosh!! :D The design couldn’t have been more accurate than this!! I love it!! Now I can’t wait to go out so I can flaunt it! :)

Thank you both soooo much. You really made my day. I am blessed and thankful I have you in my lives (and my totally clueless husband too). :) You guys are the best! :) xxx

A few minutes after going to bed, Mimi emerged saying “I don’t want to go to school tomorrow!” I felt like shouting, “You’re only FOUR!!! What could possibly be your reason for not wanting to go to school??” Instead we interjected with a sympathetic, “Why?”

Turns out that there’s a bit of gender segregation taking place on the playground. The boys are refusing to play with the girls and visa versa! Evidently, my little girl wants to play with the boys and they’re not allowing her! The boys are hogging the slides! So we told her to ask them nicely tomorrow to allow her to play with them on the slides. It seems that worked because she was off to bed in a jiffy. :)

But who am I kidding?? It’s Mimi we’re talking about here!! Five minutes later she was out of her bed again asking, “What if the boys said no?” I think that’s when I lost it!! We’ve been home for a week and she picks the night before school to bring all this up!?!?! I tried not to be too mean.. I just didn’t want to discuss this when it’s getting way past bedtime, so I told her to go back to bed and that we’d discuss this later.

Now I’m thinking how and what should I tell her? How do I explain to her that it’s normal for some kids not to want to play with her? And that she should find others to play with?? What do I say??? Help!

With the kids home for a week, we had to make sure we had a plan for each and every day!

First it was the Zoo. Spending a couple of hours there with the kids in control over what we see and how long we stay makes the visit lots of fun for everyone.

During our snack break the kids insisted on sitting by the Elephant and ‘sharing’ their juice with it. ;)

We also went to Magic Planet. We played some bowling… then played with some games (especially Fruit Ninja).

There was also a morning at The Scientific Center. This was the first time we saw the petting section! The kids loved it!! Oullie got to pet a Hedgehog and a Turtle. :)

Since the weather was slightly dusty yesterday we opted for an indoor activity and headed to Marina Mall for a walk and some ice cream. The plan took a surprising twist when we spontaneously decided to go to Color Me Mine. It was Oullie’s first painting and he did a very messy/interesting job. :D Mimi opted for a unicorn that ended up with a wavy cutie mark in her attempt to make a cat cutie mark. :) Can’t wait to see the final result! :D

It’s my favorite time of the year!! And Mimi’s too because the color scheme is ORANGE. :D

As it has been every year since Mimi was born, we had a Halloween party at our place. With every passing year, the organization and planning has grown-up with the kids. The first year it was just them parading their costumes. The second it was a few more activities, especially coloring Halloween printouts and generally a Halloween themed playdate. The third it was a bit more organized with games and prizes to go along. And this year, we took playing to another level! From Monster Freeze, to Pin-the-Mouth-on-the-Pumpkin, to Pass the Parcel, to Trick or Treat… and we ended the night with a lot of dancing. (All the dancing made me realize just how much I love being around kids and making them laugh with my goofiness.)

The decoration has been accumulating through the years. Each year I make something and add it to our collection. ;)

This year, I got balloons and drew jack-o-lantern faces on them with a permanent marker. Thanx to Martha Stewart for that idea. ;) However my only pointer is that you should dispose of those balloons 2 days after making them because the ink starts getting on EVERYTHING! My poor couch is paying the price! :(

I also made my traditional Rice Krispie Treats, but this time in a more kid friendly manner. I made them in cupcake liners with gummy worms on top of each. :)

No Halloween is complete without Sam’s Jack-o-Lantern. :)

The best part was some friends insisted on bringing something with them so we also had Halloween cupcakes from Cake & Bake, Mini cupcakes from Sugar & Spice, Donuts from La Baguette and additional Pastries not sure from where.

The party favors I made for our guests were actually very easy to make. In an attempt to be more creative than previous years, I made them into pumpkin shapes and used them as weights to hold down the helium balloons. This way each child left our party with a bag of treats and a helium balloon. :)

Oh, I also made so cat and ghost treat bags. So in reality each child left with TWO treat bags. :D