AbezAbez Is... 50% White, 50 % Pakistani, Muslim Hijab-wearing type female, Daughter of Momma, Sister of Owlie Wife of HF, Momma of Khalid, a special little boy with Autism, and Iman, a special little girl with especially big hair, Writer, Graphic Designer, Editor, Freelancer, Blogger, Inhaler of Chocolate
Right Brain Left Brain Islam poetry
Mortal Wounds BebeFiles Husbandfiles

 
My sister, De Owl

My Husband, who never updates!

Mona, who I don't visit enough

Hemlock, who I don't hug enough

Baji, the orginal robot monkey pirate

Prometheus, who buts brains to blog about Autism

Socrates, a blogger with Asperger's

Jo, a funnier Autism mom with a great blog

Autism Watch-  for logic-based information

ASAT- Assosciation for Science in Autism Treatments

Quack Watch- for current news and info on all sort of medical treatments

Expat Women Blog Directory

My Cousin- really, he's my cousin.  Wish he would update more.

 
 
 
 

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The Bebefiles: One Year!!?

It's 10:23, and Bebeface is asleep, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

Of course, yesterday he insisted on staying up until 4:30 am, and the night before that, 3, and the days following those long nights tend to be fuzzy and a little disoriented, but hey, SubhanAllah, it's all good. :)

Khalid cruised by the one-year mark a week or so ago, the 19th being an uneventful though especially cute day, MashaAllah. These days, Khalid is working full time on his newest skills- getting around by holding on to the sofa and taking wobbly steps in the direction of the laptop, crawling or something like it, and learning simple games.

Every day Khalid does something that makes me gasp out of either surprise, amazement, or shock. A few days ago he went from sitting to crawling position by leaning too far back to stare at the ceiling and then turning in mid-fall to land on all fours instead of his head, Alhamdulillah. And then there is the 'feed momma crackers' game, where I open my mouth and Khalid pokes whatever soggy edible he has been gnawing on inside. We've learned, rather unexpectedly, that this game also applies to other cracker-shaped objects as well, like the business card Khalid pushed into my mouth last week.

And Khalid plays peekaboo with newspapers, and bedsheets, and embarrassingly, with the hem of my skirt at a dinner party. (peeka- No!) And Khalid has discovered that the best things in life have buttons on them, like the cordless phone that he yanked out of my hand and dropped on the floor, or the TV remotes with the tasty rubber buttons, or any of the many mobile phones belonging to the various family members foolish enough to leave the phones where he can demand them. Khalid sent his daddy a blank sms two days ago. We were all impressed.

HF: (checking phone) You sent me an sms just now?
Me: No, what do you mean?

-pause-

HF: Where's your phone?
Me: Khalid?


And Khalid has turned bath time into a force of nature, specifically, a typhoon. He whirlwinds his arms and legs, churning up furious waves, soaking the floor, the towel, the momma... anything in a five foot radius.

And Khalid is intensely interested in personal grooming, specifically manicures, and any time nail clippers are placed anywhere near his nails, he immediately wants to inspect (as well as taste) whatever it is that they're doing and why they insist on doing it to him.

And prayer time with Khalid is extra challenging, as there are fewer less distracting things than a baby crawling excitedly over to your feet so he can grab hold of your toes and talk to them.

(bibbibibibib bbbbwwwwwwmmmm)

And I know exactly where the last year has gone, but I can't believe what was taking so long has passed so fast. SubhanAllah, SubhanAllah, Khalid isn't really a baby anymore, but he's not quite a toddler yet. He's at an in-between stage, he's an oversized grabby wiggly thing that wants to go for a walk to see the oscillating fan oscillate, but still clings to his momma like a shy koala baby.

Too big to be a baby, too small to be a boy, my little Babysaurus. :)

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Saturday, March 24, 2007

Five Minute Update at 3 AM

I need a new layout! *pout*

I made Baji a new layout, and I made Ushi a new layout, and if anyone else wants a new layout, I will make you one for a random cash amount if I ever set my paypal up... but who will make me a new layout?

This one's not bad, it's just not... me.

It's 3 am, and I will write a real update later. Really. I promise.

*zonk* -falls out of chair-

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Possibly one of the more interesting evenings spent shopping

There is no way to describe how hysterically funny as well as deliciously relaxing it is to sit in a showroom massage chair (The OTOCare Deluxe, only 6,500dhs!) with the foot rest up and the remote control in Bebeface's hands. I laughed until my stomach hurt while being massaged randomly by Khalid's ham-fisted grip on the remote control.

The salesman in the corner was trying very hard not to be seen laughing. He turned pink. Khalid cooed and growled and mashed at the remote control, turning the chair off a few times and turning the intensity up regularly, until I felt like I was being pummeled by an pair of oompa-loompas who had been paid to hide behind the chair and rhythmically punch me in the back, shoulders, and uummm.. seat.

(oompa, loompa, doompity doo!
yes, we can beat on your tushy-tush too!)

SubhanAllah. :)

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

five second update

Blog: A work in progress.

Bebe: Anti-sleep as usual, but also outputting cuteness at such intense levels as to nearly counter my sleep deprivation.

Life: Alhamdulillah, Good. :)

Work: Yes! I actually have enough projects coming my way that I can choose which ones I want to do; SubhanAllah, what a luxury!

HF: MIA: Spending more time in traffic for work than at home, I miss HF. :(

That's all folks! Real update coming soon to a blog near you.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Sleep Deprivation = Insomnia?

Alhadulillah, Alhamdulillah, Khalid is asleep.

He's been asleep since 10:15 (it's 1 am now) and he's woken up about five times since then (don't ask, God knows why) and this is the point where you scream at me and ask WHY THE HECK AREN'T YOU SLEEPING TOO!?

Umm. Well. I can't sleep.

I've been having this problem for the past week or so- even after putting long and odd hours into the Khalid Sleep Battle, when Khalid finally drops off to sleep I lay in bed next to him, wide awake, sometimes until his next feeding, which is generally 40 minutes later. I'm exhausted, I'm sleep-starved, I'm shaky and wobbly and worn out, but my brain is feverishly churning out thoughts related to Bloom's Taxonomy and other pedagogical nonsense with zero significance at this hour.

This is Bloom's Taxonomy. It's a pyramid. Yep. Why is my brain thinking about it? Because the six words here represent six significant intellectual processes regarding learning behavior. The simplest is Knowledge, simply 'knowing' and being able to recall facts. After that is Understanding of the knowledge. After that is Application, where you can take that understanding and use it. So on and so on.

(I teach too, remember? American Accent Training? I'm an American, Dammit!)

So I was writing out my syllabus for an upcoming Accent Training class that I'm supposed to teach and I stumbled upon a copy of Bloom's Taxonomy on the desktop. HF had put it there, because HF is an education-flavored guy too, and I thought it was cool. But now it has embedded itself in my brain and I'd rather be sleeping but here I am blogging about it at 1 am.

And I can't sleep. I try to- when Khalid takes his afternoon nap I try to join him, but I mostly lay there are stare at the patterns on the pillowcases.

Ehow.com says I should:

  • STEP 1: Get out of bed if you can't sleep. Lying in bed sleepless will only make you more stressed.
  • STEP 2: Read or perform a light chore until you feel sleepy. Then try to go back to sleep - or, if you're feeling stressed or agitated, try some relaxation techniques.
  • STEP 3: Relax by listening to soft music or a meditation tape. Do yoga or gentle stretching.
  • STEP 4: Take a hot bath with aromatherapy soaps. Keep the lights dim. Bright light will make you more alert.
  • STEP 5: Try an herbal sleep remedy to induce sleepiness. Valerian, chamomile, catnip, lavender, lime flower, passion flower, hops or skullcap can be taken in tea or capsule form.
  • STEP 6: Snack on foods high in tryptophan, an amino acid that can help you relax. These include turkey, bananas, figs, dates, milk and tuna.
  • STEP 7: Essential oils can also help you relax. Add six to eight drops of lavender or marjoram to a bath, or put four drops of oil on your pillow.
  • STEP 8: Return to bed once you're feeling sleepy and relaxed.
And I've managed steps 1, 2, and 6, but hey, I'm still up. And now I'm blogging quantity over quality. And I'm out of warm milk. And I already ate all the dates, which are supposed to be high in tryptophan to make me sleepy.

Right Brain: Go to sleep you moron.

Left Brain: Make me!

RB:I'm trying!

LB: Trying what?

RB: To make you go to sleep.

LB: I don't want to go anywhere. I'm sleepy.

RB: Oh hey, have you heard of Bloom's Taxonomy?

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