A little piece of Heaven

Layla and I found this amazing little place near our home. We live near Powell Butte, which is an extinct cinder cone volcano. Most of Powell Butte is set aside as a park but there are private homes all around it. On the east and south sides of the butte there is an area of small hobby farms and old houses that looks like it has been untouched in the last 50 years. I have been taking Layla back here to see the horses and look for bugs. It reminds me of how I spent a lot of my own childhood. I would love to live in a place like this someday. I would rather have a little house with a huge overgrown yard full of trees, than to live in a perfectly manicured suburban home.

Look at this huge maple leaf!

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses-Day 4

Brown Skirt with a green shirt and multi-striped scarf.

I put the sweater over later because the green shirt is kind of tight.

Layla in her yellow dress that Grandma Linda sent her.

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses- Day 2

Here is basically what I wore to ESL classes today. I didn't have the hijab on all day, but it was meant to be part of the outfit. Wearing a long shayla and teaching preschoolers doesn't work so well. If I was practical, a purple Al-Amira hijab would have worked better.

I got the skirt at an Indian imports store last year. Its a wrap skirt, so one size fits (almost) all. I have a purple long-sleeved tee and tank top that you can see the bottoms of, and a black hoodie over top.

Its been pretty chilly here, so I haven't had to deal with the dilemma of modest summer clothes quite yet.

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses

I don't know if I'll post each day for the rest of the week, but I got this idea from Michelle, aka Coffee Catholic's blog. 

The original idea was put out by another blogger:

Host: Emily @ Do Not Conform…

Information: The challenge is to wear only skirts/dresses for an entire week of seven days, and then post a photo of your outfits (head to toe) on your blog…. read more.

Date: Tuesday, May 4th through Monday, May 10th

Here is my outfit for today:

I got the skirt last year at the Somali mall in Minneapolis. I really haven't bought many clothes since last year.

As you can see, I'm a big fan of layering. I typically wear a tanktop under everything, regardless of the weather. I will usually wear another shirt and a hoodie if the weather isn't hot. I love long skirts, but I think they only look long enough if they're basically dragging the ground. That doesn't work so well here in rainy Portland, so I've also picked up a few tunics and longer tops to wear with jeans. As you can see, no hijab today, perhaps I'll add one tomorrow.


And not to leave Layla out,

Grandmas are the Best!

Layla and I found a surprise when we went out to check the mail.
A package, just for her.

From her grandma Linda

What could it be?

Her very own laptop!


If you lived with us, you'd understand why this is the perfect gift. We don't own a TV, and are on our laptops a lot. Layla is always taking mine so she can push keys and see what happens.

Thanks Grandma! She loves it!

Fall Leaves

I don't know about you guys, but fall is one of my favorite seasons.
I just wish it lasted longer. . .
If we were to eventually move to the Middle East, I think fall would be one of the things I miss most.

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Layla had fun the last week or so playing in the leaves just outside our apartment. We've also been getting lots of time outside for walks and playing in the cool weather. The rain has just started here, so now we enjoy every bit of sunlight we can soak up.

I am still teaching the kids and translating Somali 1 day a week during the ESL classes. I would love to add another day, but the school is on the opposite side of the city from where we live. I also met another guy at my friend Leila's restaurant who wants me to volunteer for another organization called Africa House.
I would love to do it, but I'm just trying to make sure I still put Layla and my hubby first. I feel like I'm lazy sometimes, but I just don't think its a good idea to be running back and forth doing different committments every single day.

My hubby is still looking for a full-time job, so once he gets that it will be a little easier to invite friends over to the house and such. I would love to have some ladies over for tea, but its a little strange when your hubby is sitting there working on the computer doing his homework all day. It has been really wonderful being able to spend so much time with him though.

Birthday Girl!

Well, I knew it would happen someday, but its hard to believe that Layla is 2 already. Her actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but we had the party on Sunday. It was great! My friend Amanda and I picked out her gaudy outfit and accessories, and we ordered this cake from Coldstone creamery.


;


It was chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake and a chocolate ganache topping.
Definitely a huge hit!





We also got some of the cupcakes so Layla could have one all to herself! She had a great time.


Her favorite gifts were her block set from our neighbor downstairs and her rocking horse. Don't tell her, but we got it used on Craigslist! Its neighs and wags its tail when you press its ears.
The Hello Kitty pajamas were a mail-in gift from my mom in Illinois.

I was just excited that we actually know enough people now to even have a party!

The New Addition

So we weren't really planning on getting a cat right away, but...

Layla and I were walking behind our apartments the other day and came upon some really cute kittens playing on someone's patio. I was in love!

The next day I we were checking the mail when I saw the woman that I thought lived there. I asked her if the cats were hers. Yes. Ok well was she looking to give any of them away...Yes! :)

All that was keeping me from getting one of them was a $300 pet deposit. Its all refundable, but we just didn't have the money. I went to talk to our apartment manager, who is really nice. She also happened to have given the mother cat to the other lady last year when her cat had kittens. She hooked us up. We just have to pay the deposit in $50 increments until its paid in full.

So now I present, Sable, our new 8 wk old adorable kitten:

The only downside is that he has fleas. We already got some drops for them and they seem to be almost gone after bath, combing, and then the drops. I'm planning to vacuum the floor to get rid of their dead carcasses.

So I guess this is Layla's Yom Teruah, Eid, and early birthday gift all rolled into one :)

She's a lucky girl!

Half empty or half full?

Random picture, Layla and the tomato plants

Wow, the month is half over already? It has gone by so quickly! The last few days have been great here. I'm keeping up with my reading schedule, Al hamdulillah, and I have been absorbing a lot of material.
I have split up the Bible reading a little bit so I don't get burned our while reading the longer books. I have been reading 5 Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs each day, and I'm reading all the Pre-exilic prophetic books before I read Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Post-exilic prophets.

When I get to the gospels, I may read using this Synopsis of the 4 Gospels that I have. It has the text in parallel columns for each pericope that the Gospels have in common. If something is only in 1 of the Gospels, it just appears by itself. I think that might help me absorb more material rather that just reading through all 4 in a row.

There has been a lot of material that I felt like I grasped better than other times I have read through the Bible, but since I'm reading through so fast, its hard to apply the information. I have a few scribbled notes though, so some of them may turn into posts in the future.

The Quran is also going well. I have just been reading the Juz for each day, which really isn't that much.
I also skipped ahead and read some of the shortest surahs already. I also have some notes on passages in the Quran that spoke to me as well.

On Tuesday, I went to an amazing Iftar dinner with some new friends here in Portland. My friend Erin was having some of her friends from the Masjid and the Islamic school where she teaches over. We have just been friends online for awhile, so this was our first time meeting in person. She has two young daughters, and is married to a Somali. Her SIL Rooda was there and is also going to help me get connected with some Somali translators here. We are also planning to take the kids together to an Eid party at their Masjid.

Layla had fun playing with the kids and their goat, Baraka, who lives in the backyard. There were lots of kids to keep her busy, so I actually got to spend lots of time talking with all the ladies. There were so many ethnicities; Pakistani, Korean, Indonesian, American, Somali. There was such a peaceful feeling when everyone prayed Maghrib together too. I got to talk to Tasnim, one of the Pakistani ladies for awhile. She was very knowledgable about Islam and just had a joy and peace about her. I got to talk to her about how I was first introduced to Islam, and that although I am not officially a Muslim, Islam will always be a part of me.  She seemed to understand what is really important in the diin and what really matters in life. She is the kind of Muslim who keeps drawing me towards the community.

Ramadan has been a really beautiful month so far. I am feeling better connected now that I have my best friend Amanda here, and a new group of friends here. I will be going to a Sabbath service tomorrow at a Messianic church and bringing a book about Islam to a friend there. It is called Miniskirts, Mothers, and Muslims: A Christian Woman in a Muslim Land. I would definitely recommend it. The author is remarkably sensitive to Islam, and I can see how she too, has become a better person and Christian by being around Muslims. I liked it because even though the author sees herself as a missionary to Muslims, she had to change her own worldview of Islam after truly experiencing it.

I wish that more Christians weren't afraid of and biased against Muslims. I think that it just takes building a lot of relationships, one at a time.

Hope the fasting is still going well for everyone and don't forget to make lots of dua too!

JazakAllah khayr.

Layla's Best Friend

We came into the room last night to this cute sight. Layla cuddling her doll the same way I used to sleep with her when she was tiny. She's starting to want to take her places when we leave too.



They're so cute when they're sleeping :)

Toga!

My husband and I always joked that we would dress our kids in Togas for the first few years of their life to save money. It turns out that a toga can be pretty cute.
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This is just actually a towel that I wrapped around Layla, then tied at the shoulder. I think its pretty cute! It gets a little cold in Portland for year-round togas though.

Just One More Day...

My mom and brother are leaving Thursday morning. :(

My mom and I at the OR trail interpretive center

This week has been fun, but kind of sad too. Since I've had my brother and mom here for the past week, I kind of forgot that they don't actually live here.

We've had lots of fun and gone a lot of places, so hopefully I've done my part of convincing them to move here eventually. We have to wait for my dad to retire though.

Today we visited 2 museums, and had lunch at Red Robin. Layla loved dipping her fries in the sauces.

Layla and her sauces

Grandma and sleepy Layla

Yesterday we visited Mt. St. Helens. It was a little cloudy though, so we didn't bother driving the additional 30 miles to the closest viewpoint. It would have cost quite a bit to get in, so we just took pictures from the Forest Learning Center.

Tomorrow we are planning to take it pretty easy, but if its sunny we will go back up on Powell Butte to take pictures and maybe drive out closer to Mt. Hood.

Just like me at first, they can't get over the fact that there are real mountains here!

In other news, Blogger has somehow deleted all the blogs I watch from my dashboard. It did this once before, and they came back after I had re-added half of them. I think I'm just going to give it a day or so.

Yesterday's Finds!

As you may know, my mom and brother are in town. We have been busy all around the city, checking out shops, taking walks, and just generally enjoying ourselves. The weather got a really nice too. Its much cooler and overcast, so we won't get overheated while walking.

Yesterday we went to Powell's books, checked out downtown for a bit, then went over to the Hawthorne Dist. I picked up these things:


The Quran translation is Al Quran, A Contemporary Translation by Ahmed Ali.

I looked at it in the store and was pretty impressed. It includes the Arabic text (in very small print), has useful footnotes, and seems to be contemporary without going against traditional interpretation. I was actually looking for the Asad translation, but maybe this was meant to be.
The English is very readable, but seems to be truer to the original.

I picked up the scarf at a place that sold clothes from Tibet and nepal. It is a rougher cotton that seems to stay put and also breathes well.

Just look at how cute Layla is wearing it:


The other book is a children's story in English and Somali. I probably bought it more for myself than for Layla. She seems to get annoyed when I read it to her in Somali.

My mom and brother both really like it here. Now I just need to convince them to move when my dad retires.

Layla's house

Layla found out that she can fit in the biggest cabinet in our apartment. So I guess we won't be storing anything in there for awhile :)
I think I'd rather look at her in there anyway.

Night Weaning

I am so excited! Layla has been sleeping so much better the past few nights. She had been sleeping fairly well, but then decided that it was a good idea to wake up and try to nurse every couple hours. Naas....Naas

Well, that was getting to be a bit annoying since she is now 21 mos. old and doesn't need the calories during the night. I finally got over feeling bad about it and decided to cut her off for the night nursings.

I nurse her right before bed at about 9:00, the husband and I go to sleep around 11, and she doesn't touch my naas until its at least light outside. Its working pretty well so far.

It took me a couple nights to cut her off completely. After giving in only a time or 2 the past week, she finally realized that she can't bother me all night long. If I let her nurse early in the morning, she will usually go back to sleep until at least 8:30. Let's just say that we are all much happier with this arrangement.

Our next big hurdles are potty training and taking away the pacifier. At this point she won't sleep at all without it clipped onto her shirt. Since I've had so much trouble with her sleeping from day 1, I guess that I'm willing to put up with the pacifier for a little bit longer.

She is also talking up a storm. She has lots of 2 and even 3 word sentences that she uses now. I cracked up yesterday when she patted the couch and said "Mama, sit down!". She will also say "Layla do it."

Farewell Peoria. . .

I am finally leaving my parents' house after being here in Peoria for a whole year. It was nice to have somewhere to stay while Dave was deployed and we've had some great times here. I will miss my parents and my friends who still live here, but I would never choose to move back here.

Yesterday we took care of seeing a lot of the family at my cousin's house, who was having a 1st birthday party for her little girl. They were having a pool party, so Layla was the only baby swimming topless yesterday! She absolutely loved the pool and got a little upset when we took her out.

Our plans get a little hectic starting tomorrow. We have to pack everything we have at my parents' house into our little Mazda Protege. Then we are driving to Minneapolis, where we will say goodbye to Dave's mom and siblings and our good friends there. After that we being the approximately 1800 mile journey from there to Portland. Since we are staying a couple days in Minneapolis, we should InshaAllah get into Portland next Monday (the 22nd).

We should already have an apartment held in Portland, that way we won't be homeless when we get there. Our original plan was to rent a U-haul and drag our car behind, but the U-haul was $1400 one-way and the tow dolly for the car was another $400, so now we are only going with what we absolutely need. The only problem is that my husband and I own a lot of books. We may have to ship quite a few of them, but I know that should not cost anywhere near $1400.

When we get to Minneapolis, our mechanic friend will be looking over the car, rotating tires, changing the oil, and putting on new brake pads. We also got AAA just in case we break down along the way.

I am so excited about making our new home in Portland! We're finally getting out of the Midwest.

Memories of Mothers' Day Past

Today is my second Mothers' Day. So far it has been much better than the first one. The picture here is not from Mothers' day, but it was taken less than a month before that when we were visting friends in San Diego. See how fat (and bald) Layla was then!

So anyway, the hubby thought it would be nice to take me out for Ethiopian food. Great idea. We didn't have anyone around that we trusted to watch Layla, but we figured she would be good if she nursed and got a nap first. Let's just say that we were very wrong.

We went to the Blue Nile on Franklin in Minneapolis. I think that Fasika is better, but we felt like trying a new place that day. The food came fairly quickly, with Layla acting pretty normal to that point. However, as soon as I tried to start eating, she erupted with bloodcurdling screams.
We had to take turns standing and bouncing her while the other one of us ate. Romantic it was not. I think we were in and out in less than a half hour. It was agonizing.

Since then, I've had lots of other horrible scream fests in restaurants with my darling. For some reason she just hates eating out most of the time. She's just now getting to the age where she doesn't just scream the whole time for no reason.

Today has been great and relaxing so far. I've gotten lots of happy mothers' day texts from friends, my dad cooked breakfast for my mom and I, and I got to talk to my hubby on the phone. He's going to be back with us in about 2 weeks! I'm so excited.

So here's to many more Mothers' Days and good Ethiopian food.

Peek a boo!

Today we made a tent with Layla's playpen. She had her toys inside and we covered the top of it with a sheet. She kept saying "hi" and waving at me through the mesh. It was fun for awhile, but she eventually got tired of it when she realized that it was a ploy to keep her locked up.

Adventures in mis-pronunciation

Layla and I took a nice walk today in between rainstorms. She got a chance to look at some flowers that I picked for her. After that, whenever we saw dandelions in someone's yard she would say shawee, shawee. For some reason she couldn't say flower. She never seemed to get tired of dropping them and getting new ones out of another yard. Thankfully most of the people where we live don't have chemicalized lawns with no dandelions. I can't figure out why some homeowners hate them so much. We think they're pretty.

Layla Eat?

I was trying to think of all the words Layla knows so far for things related to food and drink. There are actually quite a few. Some she can pronounce better than others.

Basic words: Eat, done, more (sign too), naas (Somali for breasts, for nursing of course) and snack=nats

I think she gets the more sign mixed up with just wanting to eat though.

Favorite foods and drinks she knows:

Oatmeal=oatmee

apple=apee

juice=oosh

water=wawii
yogurt=gogee

cheese
tea

cookie

soup

salad=salee

fish

I guess that's about it. She also accents her eating words with yummy, yucky=gucky, and eww. She also says dirt when I sweep up the floor.

Not bad for just turning 18mo. today.