A Very Belated Eid Mubarak

Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging about life.

It's been mighty hectic around here these past couple of weeks.  So many things happening all around the same time leave very little time or energy to recover. Or blog.

Jenin's party, my parents out of town = my little brother and sister staying with us, a short notice holiday bazaar to sell items, a sudden family hospitalization (not immediate family), short notice Eid party at J's Sunday school, kids outnumbering adults in the house, adults acting younger than present kids in the house, another short notice bazaar to redeem myself from the first failed bazaar, Eid. Plus all of the typical day to day stuff: cooking, cleaning, tantrums, errands...Phew! I think I may finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Alhamdulilah (All praises due to God) we had a nice Eid.  I made some wake-up muffins so that everyone would have a warm breakfast to hold them over until after the Eid prayer.  We arrived just in time at the location until we realized that things were a tad too calm for Eid morning.  I quickly rechecked my e-mail from my phone at the light only to find out that we were at the wrong convention center.  Luckily everything in the Bay is just "fifteen minutes away".  We got to the actual location with some time to spare.  Thousands and thousands of people of all walks of life all dressed in their finest. 

After salah, prayer, we headed to our favorite spot for Eid breakfast.  I ordered the crab fritatta and soon learned that I prefer my crab straight from the shell and dipped in butter. I polished off the girls' pancakes which I might just order next Eid. At home the girls opened their gifts and then made a quick wardrobe change before heading out to Chuck E. Cheese.  I was never a fan of the place but the kids for some reason or another love it.  Never again.  I had dropped off my girls with my sister so that I could pick up some last minute gifts from the nearby Target.  When I came back I noticed a news crew filming and assumed it was because of the Eid. Wrong. Two days prior to being there, that location was robbed by two armed men. Luckily no one was hurt but the footage of the children on the ground was really upsetting.  Certainly things like this can happen anywhere, but to know that it happened in a place specifically for children so close to home just doesn't sit well with me.  Good-bye Chuck.  My family still makes fun of me because of the newscast.

Leap Frog alphabet set (I realize she's too young for this but she plays with it all the time at my cousin's house. Plus, Jenin can get use out of it too.) and a Little People mini van.

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head set  and Melissa and Doug lace up boards for J.

*None of their gifts were purchased online. I got all their gifts from different stores for nearly 50% off of the listed online prices. I just linked up to them in case anyone was interested in getting a better visual.*

Next we headed to my cousin's house where we normally do the gift exchange for the kids.  We missed the initial exchange while we were at breakfast, but the kids were clearly ready for round two of gift opening.  For this Eid's gifts I wanted to give all the kids the same gift but unique to them.  The boys got remote control cars in their favorite colors and long sleeved character T-shirts.  

The girls received something special that I hope they'll cherish for a long time.  All of our kids have way too many toys, so I wanted to give them a gift that can be enjoyed year round.  I made scalloped garlands for each girl with her name stamped on it. The back is plain so that they can use it for another occasion if they would like.  Each garland is just about 9 feet long. I have been wanting to make these garlands for the longest time.  I love the way they came out and I think the girls really liked them.  They sat around me as I sewed the scallops and cut off the excess fabric.  They had fun trying to guess what I was making.  Pillows, underwear, and colored katayif (a Palestinian dessert enjoyed during Ramadan) were my favorite guesses.  Along with the garlands, each girl got a Princess puzzle, a pack of wall decals, and a boxed craft set.  I decided to use reusable shopping totes as the gift bag since they're practically the same price as the flimsy paper ones.  I picked them up from Ross. Iman had given me this idea. They come with a mini one that I'll save for next year's Eid. 

I hope you all enjoyed your Eid.  Until next year...