Life Status: Elevated

My parents had some guests over this weekend from New York. Dear Son and I went over to meet them and they were such nice and kind people.  I didn't get to spend too much time with the husband because he was here on business and he was busy with my dad in meetings. I did spend two days with the wife. She is such a smart, kind and overall wonderful woman.
As we sat around eating, talking and watching Dear Son play, she said something that rang so true that I wanted to share it with you. She said that her MIL used to say "when you have children, your lifestyle gets elevated" as in everything moves up and out of your child's reach. Anyone who has spent a few real moments with children knows how true this is!
I have emptied out our entire living room to allow safe roaming for Dear Son. The only thing left (and the most dangerous, of course) is the TV. This weekend we bougth the stand and just need to get it screwed on the wall and then our lifestyle will be truely ELEVATED!  LOL
How has your lifestyle been elevated post children?

The First Grader (The Movie)

My brother added this movie to our Netflix queue and I happened to find few moments of solitude yesterday to start watching it. Let me tell you, this movie will change your life (and I haven’t even finished watching yet!).

It is based on a true story of an 83 year old Kenyan man, who attends school with first graders to learn to read and write. He is called Maruge, fought against the British colonials to free Kenya and eventually ended up in a detention camp where he suffered inhumane (and I mean, shut-your-eyes-and-ears-and cringe worthy) treatment only to survive and become an even stronger, resilient and determined individual. 

In the beginning of the Movie, the Kenya gov’t announces free education for all Kenyans and parents flock to tattered schools, fighting with the gatekeepers to secure a spot for their child. Maruge comes back day after day, hoping to be given a chance to learn. Jane, the head teacher, likes his determination and takes a chance to help him. 

For those of us living in first world countries, it is easy to take education for granted. It’s hard for us to imagine a world without written words. Try to imagine a world where you can’t read. It’s hard to do. It is so ingrained in us and because we never had to struggle to go to school, it’s easy for us to take it for granted. 

As beaten up as our education system is, at least elementary education is considered a right rather than a privilege. And that, my friends, makes all the difference in the world. 

Couponing 101

My extra income was always something that allowed my family the safety of not worrying about tomorrow.  We had a nice little "rainy day fund" and my husband and I were both religious about making sure we didn't use that money for anything other than real emergencies. Now that we are down to one income, it's always tempting to continue to live our old lifestyle and just use that money with the good intention of "replacing it soon". Which to be honest, never happens because you keep digging yourself in deeper.

 

I've heard a lot about couponing and even knew a little bit about it but never had the time (or patience) to sit there clipping coupons and planning my shopping trips. When I needed to save a little extra money, I would opt for buying generics which are always cheaper than name brand items.
This past weekend, I decided to give couponing a shot. I had a long list of things I needed to buy at Target so I sat down on my computer and starting printing coupons. Besides the manufacture coupons that you can find in your Sunday paper and online, Target offers their own store coupons online which you can combine to get a nice little deal. 

I made a list of everything I needed and wrote down the coupon's value next to it so I would know exactly how much I will be paying for the item. Since I have a target red card and also had the extra 5% reward coupon, I would be getting an extra 10% off on my total bill.

So I headed to Target with my list, my coupons and a baby in tow. After all was said and done, I was able to save a whopping $33.69! Now it may not seem like a lot to some of you but think about this: I would have unnecessarily spent $33.69 had I not used coupons. We can just give $34 to Target or we can use it to go out for dinner one night at our favorite Indian Chinese Restaurant.

 

  

I have learned two valuable lessons from this experience. First being that coupons are our friend. Second that creating lists and sticking to them curbs impulse buying and saves both time and money. I am now a believer. Now that I realize the power of coupons, I will be using them more often and the money I save, I can put away for a rainy day (or maybe use it to buy myself nice things!).  

How do you save money and stay within your budget? 

Phishing Scam

The other day I received an email asking me to follow the provided link and verify my information so that my “Discover Bank” account is not unnecessarily restricted.

I’m already very good at spotting these phishing scams but this one just made me laugh because of its horrible grammar. I decided to have a little fun and proofread the email for them and offer the scammers some constructive criticism. If you’re planning on scamming someone at least put in a little effort to make it believable.

Midnight Musings

DAMN YOU, PINTEREST!

I should have been in bed TWO hours ago.

You are an addiction. Like a siren's song, your little red logo draws me in and hypnotizes me. I touch you just to "see" and before I know it, all I want to do is pin, pin, pin!

You muddle my brain and numb my senses. As you draw me in with your tantalizing recipes and crafts, my life's purpose becomes to pin just one more! But it's all a lie, an illusion. There's never just one more! There is just more, more and MORE! 

Here's a little poem I wrote for you, Pinterest, because I still love you.

Untitled

I can pin sitting down.

I can pin laying down.

I can pin in the bathroom.

I can pin in the waiting room.

I can pin in the car.

I can pin in the store.

I can pin anywhere and everywhere!

What is your addiction?

Purpose With a Side of Accomplishment

After another night of minimal sleep, I was again a bit groggy. It didn't help that dear son started getting into things from the moment his eyes opened (which is of course expected but still.)

Dear Hubby was getting ready for work as I was running around chasing the baby. He stopped to watch us for a moment and asked: “Do you miss going to work?”

That is a question I've pondered upon from time to time but each time my answer is an unequivocal “No”. I don't miss going to work at all. What I do miss is being able to complete tasks uninterrupted and having a sense of accomplishment.

I'm a list maker by nature. I make lists and put everything I need to do and cross things off as I complete each task even if it's something as menial as "take a shower" (which these days is a total luxury). It always gave me a sense of accomplishment, as if I did something and didn't totally waste my day.

Yesterday, I was trying to do some dishes during nap time and Hyder kept waking up. I had to stop, run to him, put him back down, come back and start the dishes again only to have to stop once more to look after him. I love him to death but man, I just need to feel a sense of accomplishment; even if it's only for having done the stinkin' dishes when I wanted to.  I'm not (yet) desperate enough to do the dishes after everyone has gone to bed. I hope I never am or I'll be getting even less sleep.

For now, I think I'm going to stick with doing only what's necessary and napping/pinning/youtubing (Is that even a word?) while the baby naps.

AND

Here's something to help you waste your time while the baby naps. This always makes me smile!

Occupational Hazards

Motherhood is a dangerous job. I always knew that it would be tough, but I never realized the dangers that come with the territory.

In the past few weeks, I have endured the following:

• Been repeatedly bitten by a teething baby. And, those bites HURT! No, seriously, they do. If you don't believe me, watch this.
• Been scratched. Repeatedly. With trimmed nails that never lose their dagger like sharpness. 
• Had my hair pulled out from the roots. I think I'm already half bald. Good thing I wear a Hijab*, I guess. 
  
• Been woken up 1,000 times during the night by a teething baby who just wanted to be held. Yes, as soon as I picked him up, he was sleeping again. I, on the other hand, was not.
• Haven't had a full night sleep (read "a good night") sleep in nine (9) months.
• Woken up to a warm, fuzzy feeling only to realize that the diaper leaked (we co-sleep). On my bed, on my clothes, on my comforter. Oh, how laundry has become my new best friend.
• Have sprinted across the house, out of shower, and out of the bathroom at the sound of a crying baby only to find the baby sound asleep. (Yes, I do own and use a baby monitor but you cannot ignore a mother's intuition.) 

All this, coupled with the normal stresses of life, is enough to drive anyone insane. But, in the past 9 months, I have also learned something very peculiar. On the days I'm most irritable, he does the most adorable things. I would be huffing and puffing around the house, holding onto the last teeny tiny thread of my patience, and he will go and do something so cute that all my frustration and irritability will just vanish!

Like today, he found his way to the kitchen garbage can. This doesn't seem like something awesome or funny but what really made me laugh was how he did it. He had watched me open the can with my foot to throw away some trash yesterday and today as soon as he spotted the little foot-presser thingy, he made a beeline for it from across the living room--crawling UNDER a CHAIR and then plopping on his belly right in front of the can and began pressing the foot-press with his little hand to get it to open! How quickly he learns! That just melted my heart.

Motherhood comes with good, bad, horrible and just down right terrible days but even the most terrible day can be turned around by focusing on the little things. There are no sick days, vacations or paid lunches or even bathroom breaks (although they would be nice) but there are plenty of wet kisses, cuddles, and hugs to make it all worthwhile. 

What do you try to focus on to keep yourself sane? 

*The scarf Muslim women use to cover their hair.