Eid fun!

Ocho exploring the eid lights :)

Salaam ya'll! We've had so many days of eid fun, I've lost track! Alhamdulillah for all our blessings! As ya'll probably know we are not wealthy people. We have most of what we need but things like car repairs and holiday presents are a big drain on our tiiiight budget. This year Aaminah is in KG at our local Islamic school and they just started a Beta Club there. Like a service organization for good students is the best explanation I can come up with. :)

Anyway they decided to take a collection for a few students to buy them eid gifts and it was such a blessing to us! They sent home a note and asked for a list of 3 things Aaminah would like as well as clothes and shoe size. She received so many gifts from them and it was just humbling and amazing. She got 2 DVDs (The Little Mermaid and a Princess Sofia), 2 dolls (Little Mermaid and a Princess Sofia) and she also got a Princess Sofia messenger bag that you decorate yourself. It was so sweet and so much more than I had hoped for. :)

I did take her to Target and let her pick out one eid gift from me; she got a pretend cash register. Every kid loves to play with those! It has fake coins and beeps and the drawer opens and shuts. :) She and her friend Jayanah played with it for hours.

I also bought her a few very cheap surprises; I got her some flarp (ooey gooey slimey stuff), a bag of her favorite chocolates, some lipgloss, a new watercolor set (the cheap stuff lol) and I blew up 17 balloons! I bought purple, pink and pink and black zebra striped. I set up some colored lights I had in my closet (from where? I don't know! lol) and when she woke up on eid morning she was so surprised! It was really fun.

The eid card Aaminah made for me, mA :)

After that we went to eid breakfast at our local Islamic school. I couldn't make it to eid prayer because of the parking situation; it's just too far for me to walk in my condition.

Outside our Islamic school BEFORE the celebrants arrived! :) Gorgeous mA!

Oh speaking of, I have good "bad" news. Bad news is I am sicker but the good news is I can finally get treatment! ;) If you are anemic due to kidney failure you have to reach a certain level before insurance will pay. I was right on the cusp for the whole past year. :( You can take injections of a synthetic erythropoetin (called Procrit or Epogen) subcutaneously (in the fat!) and it will help your body make more red blood cells.

I had to prove I had no iron depletion issues (none) and no Vitamin B-12 deficiencies (nope) and finally I hit below the level to start treatment. I am looking forward to feeling stronger and iA it will really improve my quality of life! Now if I do too much besides being horribly tired and out of breath (with even the smallest exertion) my muscles hurt. A deep, deep burning pain that doesn't go away for about a day. I'll be paying tomorrow for taking Aaminah to the eid picnic but so be it! :)

Oh we also did a few more things for eid! We went to see Monster University at our local "dollar" movies, you know, the theatre you go to see older films. After their first run they go to the cheaper theatre. For only $12.25 we got 2 admissions, 2 drinks and a popcorn. I thought it was a great deal. :) Then we also went rollerskating with some sisters. Aaminah loved it but it was really hard on me. I can't skate due to my transplant (and fear of bruising my kidney) but even just my anemia and kidney failure prevents me. However, Aaminah needed to be held the entire time; I had to hold her hand and walk or, more often, grab her under the arm to help steady her. Shew, it wore me out!

Her little stocking feet, glowing in the blue light :)

Then today was the annual Siddiqui Family Eid Picnic and masha'Allah they do an amazing job! A picnic for up to 1,000 people, Muslims and our neighbors and friends. :) The grown daughter does most of the organization and it was amazing! They had 4 bounce houses, 100s of goodie bags, food food and more food!, free sno-cones, free balloons animals and organized games. Masha'Allah, may He bless this family! And they are all so humble, giving all the praise to Allah swt. :) Here are some pics from today:

One of the bounce houses

Some of the food: Tandoori chicken, falafel, salad, and gyros mA, to just name a few!

They always have a balloon archway so pretty!

A far-away view of some action!

Anyway it was amazing and we had a great time. :) At the end, my friend and I took our girls down to the lake and let them play in the sand and the edge of the water:

Cute and totally accidental it was blog "proof" :)

Insha'Allah your eid was beautiful and wonderful and spent with family and friends. Praying Cap'n and H are here to celebrate with us next year!

Aaminah made Hajj! Well, sort of ;)

We did this today at home. We didn't have quite enough cotton balls so we had to separate them to make enough. ;) I cut out the shapes then she glued all the cotton balls and body parts on. She also stuck on her name in glittery stickers.

Here are some of the projects the older children did, mA!



The hallway decorated so nicely mA! They made sai in this hall. :)

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll! Aaminah is a little hajji now! Her school had an amaaaazing Hajj program on Friday which they invited the parents to watch. It was awesome! I didn't find her a white outfit; the prayer outfit she has is a hand-me-down and it's a bit stained and snagged. So she just wore a black abaya we got at Sunnah Style a couple of years ago. I got it for like $8 because it was a factory-reject. Misplaced snap or something. :)

Anyway the school looked AWESME and jazakum Allahu khair to everyone who helped! I wish I had better pics; I borrowed a few pics from a friend but I don't really wanna put up pics of other people's kids. They were so cute btw and mA! Little boys in their ihrams (sheets and towels mostly lol) and the little girls all in hijab and abaya. Every year they make a new Kaaba so the children can participate. Here is how they made sai between Safa and Marwa. :)

 

Great idea!



They even had a sacrifice station. What a cute idea! Aaminah gently slide her hand across the sheep's throat and I explained the meat is donated to the poor. It was so much fun! I got to do tawwaf with her at the end of the Hajj and we went around chanting the dua.

Cute little sheep mA!!! :)

They ate their snack while "camped" at Mina. I can't explain how great of a job they did!

 I didn't walk over when they went to Arafat; it was at the other side of the parking area and I was really tired that day. But I joined her when she went to stone the pillars (and shaitan!). I can't show pics of it because there were so many cute little brown, white, and beige faces in it! :) But the pillars looked so nice and they got to go and pick up 3 little smooth pebbles. Nice small pebbles so the excitable kids do not hurt anyone. :)

Next time I'll try and remember to get better pics that I can share. Just didn't feel like blocking out 10 faces in a pic. :)

Hope ya'll have a great eid if I don't update before then and may Allah swt bless all the hujjaj and accept their ibadah amin!


'Eid Festivities!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. As most of you know, I am a pretty visual blogger. Alas, my camera is still not in working order. I am gonna try to get the lens cleaned but we will have to see. I really miss having photos to post on here. :-(

Anyway 'Eid Mubarak/Kareem to all my Muslim friends and family!!! I hope you all had a blessed day full of frienship, fun, food, and worship! My favorite part, hands down, is the takbiraat. I cannot say what it is that draws me in so but I really hate to miss that. Alhamdulillah I made it in time today and very much enjoyed raising my voice with others in praise to Allah swt.

My 'Eid preparations started yesterday. I went to the masjid to help decorate it; we had an iftar for those who fasted the day of 'Arafat, may Allah swt accept their fasts, amin. I tried to help decorate and set up at the Islamic academy for the 'Eid breakfast but I got very sick with a horrible headache and was in bed for the entire day. :-( I missed the iftar at the masjid which I was so looking forward to as I was not present for Ramadhan. Insha'Allah next year. :-)

After prayer which was held in the local convention center, we went to our community's Islamic school on the other end of town for 'Eid breakfast. Alhamdulillah it was very nice, crowded of course, and cold! Brrrrrr! Maybe in the mid 40s and most of the tables were set up outside. The inside of the school commons isn't large enough for  400+ people and we all know the mess that accompanies a large crowd. Alhamdulillah after the sun came up more fully it warmed up nicely.

Around 12:30 pm we left for the 'Eid picnic. A local family has hosted this picnic for several years; there are hundreds of attendees masha'allah! Really I love seeing our community out in force, celebrating the Hajj and the sacrifice Ibrahim (a.s.) was willing to make. There was food, games, and just socializing in general. I enjoyed it but Aaminah is at the age where the older girls love to take her off and play with her. I have no worries; Muslim girls (in general) know how to take care of children and love to spend time with them. Girls and boys alike; it really warms my heart to see it. :-)

Anyway most of my time was spent roaming around looking for her. I know she is safe but I like to see her ocassionally too. LOL Silly mama huh? Anyway she had a good time but we were more than ready to go by 4:00 pm. She was exhausted and I was tired of trying to keep tabs on her in a HUGE crowd.

Aaminah did get a few gifts alhamdulillah. We do not stress gifts but it is a beautiful and joyous part of 'Eid. I just don't want it to be her sole focus. So I bought her a "I can be a child care-giver" Barbie. She wanted this so bad and do you know why??? Because the tiny baby Barbie holds really drinks and pees. It just excited Aaminah to no end!! lol So I got that for her. My friend Sr. Deanna (who I am staying with right now) bought her 2 or 3 gifts, masha'allah tabarakallah, another sweet sister bought her a super-fun game, and a friend's Baba gave her $10. Woo-hoo rich girl! ;-)

Alhamdulillah we had a good day overall. I am grateful for beautiful friends, both near and far, new and old. :-) I am grateful for a lovely 'Eid with my sweet little girl Aaminah. I am grateful to Allah swt for everything in my past, the circumstances of my present, and the hope for my future. :-)

I pray you all had a joyous celebration whether alone or with the company of others. I pray for all of the Muslims around the world, that Allah swt blesses and protects them, amin!