To all my south asian sistahs

Can ya'll see any desi features on her? Curious...

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. As you may or may not know, my darlin' little Aaminah is half Indian masha'Allah. I try to encourage her to learn (in age-applicable ways) about the other half of her culture. Masha'allah she's got alot on her plate.

1. M-U-S-L-I-M of course is first and foremost. 'Nough said.

2. American. Amreeki. Amreekiya. Whatev, howev you say it, she was born a southern girl and that is of course my basis for life after being a Muslim.

3. Indo-pak/desi. Please if any of these terms are offensive, tell me. It seems simple to say Indo-Pak but I've never definitely heard if it's rude; if so please excuse me and feel free to call me a redneck if ya wanna. :-))

So I guess it goes to say she will never learn Urdu. First English then Arabic and no one to teach her Urdu. Her Abi left when she was 3 months old and returned to India (after I had traveled to India to marry him, completed his visa, waited apart for a year, brought him over as his sponsor on his relative visa, worked while pregnant with Aaminah and he make TWO trips back to India and didn't work, blah blah blah) LOL Sorry really not bitter at all just want ya'll to have the WHOLE picture in your mind and not think I am trying to keep her from anything anyone.

Anyway I want her to know about her more interesting (to me!) cultural half. Here's where ya'll can help. Anyone out there reading who has a couple of choli-lenghas or shalwar kameez sized to fit a sturdy almost 3 yr old, give me a holla. The bright metal bangles, anything really. I have a few things for her but most of the clothing she outgrew as the waist was made for some very slender child and while masha'allah Aaminah is perfect, made by Allah, she is sturdy not a will-o-wisp. :-)

I am more than willing to pay S&H plus cost but I am not looking to spend $$$. Used is best as it costs lest and I save more $$$. :-)) I would also love to have a sari for me to wrap as a rida (really neat way to cover) or a woolen jamovar/stole/pashmina???? jeeze thought I knew some things but guess not.

I know I can go on eBay and search but I am so leery of getting poor quality in things I am not as well-versed in, such as Indian clothing. Hence my appeal to you.

Now, if you have the goods, you wanna sell, we can make a deal. If you have the goods but kinda feeling, Oh I should save it for my sister's daughter or my cousin's baby, then please do and don't worry. :-) I like to hand things down in my family too or help out those less fortunate, alhamdulillah.

I knooooow this might be stretching it but I would also love to find some jewelry for her; earrings or bracelets. She has a pair of silver anklets given by a sweet friend but I of course would like to put her in some bling-bling gold, insha'Allah, the kind I cannot seem to find in the US.

Oh also just plain play shalwar kameez, shoes, whatever. Sorry trying to be more explicit in what I am searching for. Alright looking forward to hearing back from someone in the near future and if not, alhamdulillah. Maybe one day her Abi's family will think of her here in the US and send her some little token of her other background, wa Allahu alim.

She said to me the other day, rather poignantly, "I want someone to look like me" or something to that effect. She knows I have green eyes and my hair isn't quite the same as hers and her stepsiblings have a more North African/Arab look, and her brothers have light brown hair and startlingly blue eyes. Subhanallah she picked up on that! I want her to be proud of her mixed heritage but I have to find ways to present it to her first insha'allah.

Ma salaama ya'll...