This week

We had a funeral for Anisa's fish. She loved him and was most devastated at his passing. Planning the funeral arrangements and making the decorations to mark his grave helped ease the burden of her pain. Prayers were said, anecdotes of Platty's life were told and flowers were carefully laid. Unfortunately, Bangles, with absolutely no regard for any one's interests but his own, dug up the grave. The following morning I found a gruesome scene beneath the clothesline. Shredded coffin pieces (it was only cardboard after all), trampled flowers and worse of all a much loved, mutilated, fish decomposing in the sun. Anisa was at school when the discovery was made, but Bayan filled her in later. We then got a new fish, a sucker fish called Slurpia. She lasted one day. During this time Anisa learned something about detachment and asked if we should not just hand her over to Bangles to begin with and save everyone some trouble. We opted not. Respect for the dead and all. The following morning found Bayan's fish Biggie floating belly up in the fish bowl. Hours later the rest passed on as well. The result of this was a mass burial in the compost bin and a fish bowl soaking in hospital grade disinfectant.

Bayan turned five. We celebrated with a trip to a chocolate factory in the city. These people make the best dark chocolate I have ever eaten. And boy did we eat. After the tour ended the kids each chose some something delectable from the gift shop. We stopped for lunch at (shield your eyes Mom) Hungry Jacks for Bayan's favorite veggie burger and went swimming after Kumon. It was a busy day. Full of all the things my little guy likes best.

Ruhi finished her family tree. Thanks to some help from my mom we were able to trace back our ancestors past the 1700's, we learned about shipwrecks, scandalous secrets and very great grandfathers who fought in both the civil war and the American Revolution. There was a decided lack of information on Mehran's side, so Ruhi improvised. I love her illustrations. We had visitors from over seas. Here for other purposes but thankfully able to spare some time to say hello. I just regret not being able to sit and talk with them more. At least the kids had a grand time together. And last, but certainly not least, Amu Mehrdad came for a surprise visit from Perth. Only for a short time but it was great to see him as his visits only happen every few years. I think it may be our turn next.

Honeymoon's over

We all love Maryam. The girls positively adore her. She is smothered with affection (as every baby should be) and anything she does be it a gurgle, a burp or a fart is generally accompanied by a chorus of "awww - that's soooo cute!" She can do no wrong, even her cries are endearing (to me at least). She is so happy and chipper and smiley that even strangers are constantly stopping to admire and gush over her (I am not kidding you should see the older ladies at the supermarket make a bee-line for her) and they are usually rewarded with a humongous, baby, smile which only gives way to more gushing endearments. So I ask you, honestly, how much is a first time big brother expected to take? It's all enough to make a first time older sibling sick, if not at least a little bit jealous.
At any rate the novelty is gone... sort of. The honeymoon's over. Bayan has been "patting" her on the stomach. Personally I think it looks more like a mutant form of the Heimlich maneuver, but he insists that she likes it. And, to my dismay, it would appear that she does. "Look Mom, she's smiling at me." And indeed she is. Somehow I am not sure that helps. He has 'held' her by her ankles, while she, dangling upside down, flashes an uncertain grin as I rush to the rescue. I left her on the couch in Mehran's office (where I could still see her) while I helped Ruhi in the dining room with something. Out of the blue I hear Bayan singing loudly "You spin me right round baby right round..." I look up. Maryam is not on the couch. Mehran's computer chair is wildly rotating in circles while Bayan enthusiastically spins it continuing with his song... "like a record baby round, round, round, round..." It is less than a second before I have put two and two together and am racing to collect her. For once, she is not smiling. Both little arms are out to the side in that newborn startled fashion while her face is a grimace of fear. Poor little darling.
As much as all that love and attention can be a bit much, she has nevertheless, wormed her way into his sweet heart. He won't go to bed without knowing where Maryam is and what she is doing. He is always ready to give her a cuddle (debatable), share his markers with her (see photo below) and he is in charge or driving her around the house in the pram - though he is currently banned as I caught him trying to pop wheelies with her in it.
But when all is said and done he loves her dearly (as do we all). He is her her most loyal protector and guardian (he just needs to work on protecting her from his own good intentions) he tries to comfort her when she cries, is always there to make her smile and looks forward to seeing her every morning. I love the photo below. I read stories to the kids at bedtime and as I finished reading the other night I looked back on a quiet room and found this:

There is nothing sweeter in the world and I know that despite the ups and downs they will both be OK.

Ice-skating

We needed to get out of the house today, so we put our lessons on hold and, as a post birthday treat, Ruhi chose the activity...Ice skating. She and Anisa took to the ice, while Bayan played on the bleachers and I cuddled Maryam.

The girls had a great time. They pretty much had the rink to themselves, there was music and disco lights and the freedom to get the hang of it at their own speed, in their own way without having to worry about other people zipping past. I enjoyed watching them and having snuggles with a little one who makes her own heat even in sub-zero temperatures. Bayan enjoyed climbing and running around and exploring the empty stands and surrounding areas and we all enjoyed the hot chocolate and stories I produced upon our arrival home. It was just what we needed and the rest of the day had a much calmer rhythm as a result.

Post script: the kids had such a blast that we found ourselves back again, this time with friends, for even more fun. (See photo above)

"I am, O my Lord, but a tiny seed..."

The kids are learning that prayer at children's classes and, on a related note, I thought that it was about time that we planted the pumpkin seeds that they got as part of the advent calendar. We're hoping to have some great looking Jack-o-lanterns ready for Halloween. We planted 15 and so far have 9 little seedlings. My thumbs are notoriously ungreen, so the kids are in charge of these guys and so far it's lookin' good.

Happy Naw-Ruz

from our family to yours.

By the light of the silvery moon

We've been learning about space and it just so happens that tonight is a perigee moon. (That just means that because of the elliptical orbit of the moon , when it is in perigee, the moon is 50,000 miles closer to the earth than at apogee, the other end of the ellipse. The super moon that will rise tonight only happens about once every 18 years.) So we set off for the beach to enjoy the experience properly.

We walked along the boardwalk overlooking the beach, pausing for photos,stopping to collect rocks and to admire Mehran's trendy look. He was not feeling very energetic tonight and was determined to sleep, or at least lie down once we reached the beach. To make his snooze more comfortable he brought along one of the discarded, yet laundered, curtains from the rental house which, because he didn't want to carry anything either, he draped and wound across his body - Hari Zrishna style. I found this most amusing.We explored a rocky cove that whispered tales of pirates, had hidden caves and heaps of rocks for climbing, not to mention an excellent staircase that puts a gruelling StairMaster workout to shame and it's even more fun when you're garbed in lengthy, 50 year old curtains.We paused to watch the sun set and were treated to a spectacular display as the last rays of light reflected the dust in the atmosphere .But, honestly, I think I like the unscientific explanation for pretty sun sets better. "Look kids. Look at the lovely sunset God made for us tonight." We watched the moon, huge in the evening sky, and returned home happy, sandy and ready for bed.

Fasting Prayers

Since Ruhi was about 4 we have always had a a wall filled with fasting prayers to use during the Fast. Each night the kids would choose one of the prayer cards (the same prayer was on all the cards) and by the end of the Fast the kids had it memorized. The kids are getting older and it felt like it was about time for a change. So, this year, I chose a prayer (three really) and put a prayer for the start of the Fast on the first star, a prayer for the end of the Fast on the last star and on the 17 stars that were left over I divided the prayer "I Beseech Thee, O my God..." into 17 paragraphs and placed one paragraph on each star. I then cut out the stars and attached them to scrapbooking paper, cut them out again, made numbers to go on the front and laminated them. Using some beading circles from the craft store I attached each one to some ribbon and we hung them up across the making area. The idea is that for each night of the Fast we will turn over one star and will take turns reading the prayer, or part of the prayer, on the back. I'm hoping it will serve as a countdown to the new year as well as a means of introducing some of the longer occasional prayers to the kids in a fun, yet spiritual way.

The girls and I made some candles to go with the stars. I found some old glasses in the garage and cleaned them all out. I have no idea where they came from but there were 17 small ones and two slightly larger ones with fancy gold trim around the edges, perfect for the first and last nights of the Fast. They smell amazing (we used the last of our rose fragrance) and every night we light an additional candle. At Naw-Ruz (the Baha'i / Persian new year) all 19 candles will be lit. The effect should be quite pretty and the kids love lighting candles, to say nothing of blowing them out.

Double digits

Ruhiyyih is 10. She is sweet and thoughtful, helpful and teetering on the brink of adolescence. She is becoming wonderful to hang out with. We have made a point, especially since Maryam was born, to try to get some time together and I am really enjoying our mummy and me movie nights, where we snuggle on the couch, share a few snacks and enjoy a film while the younger kids are sleeping. She is developing a love for reading, enjoys cooking, drawing and bike riding. She is diligent, responsible and persistent and while very child-like she is incredibly mature in many ways. I am loving the glimpses I get of the amazing lady she is set to become. Happy Birthday honey.

Ayyam-i-Ha Traditions

We've been trialing some new things around here this Ayyam-i-Ha season and I thought I would just mention a few of the ideas that are working well for us and that I am seriously loving right now. Though I have to admit when it comes to Ayyam-i-Ha the kids are pretty easy to please and are generally willing to give new ideas, even my more unusual ones, a go. So what have we done?

Well, we are still doing the whole one gift each day of Ayyam-i-Ha. That has really become standard over the years. I used gift bags this year instead of the fabric wraps as it was faster and less fiddly. We already had them and you can reuse them again and again...so there. The main change I made this time was to include an Ayyam-i-Ha tree. You'll need to think outside the square for this one. The kids have always wanted to have a Christmas tree so I planned to go to Bunnings (local garden centre) and grab a fruit tree. (Not exactly Christmasy, but then some of the Christmas cards here depict Santa in a bathing suit, riding a surf board with his team of reindeer fanned out behind him. How Christmasy is that? But I digress...) Stone fruit are in season now so the tree would do double duty. First as a centerpiece for the presents in a-similar-to Christmas-if-you-search-for-the-connection-kind of way and secondly the fruits from the tree (when we planted it) would be donated to the Food Bank, which is where we decided to do our service component of Ayyam-i-Ha. But more on that in a minute. That plan didn't quite come to fruition (pardon the pun). When I saw the price tag that would accompany the fruit tree we were forced to down grade. In the end we found a charming pepino bush that fit the budget and also bore fruit. Nine to be exact. So we brought it home, placed some festival figures and presents around it and as it was not the most robust looking plant I placed some wrapped chocolates around the base to brighten it up a bit as it did not quite make it as far as my expectations were concerned. Can you see it poking out behind the presents? Not exactly the tree from Times Square, but what can you do? Thank God the children are easy to please. They were just thrilled to show up for breakfast and to find that there were surprises for them on the buffet hutch. Ah, such simple things. And me I love the fact that I get to place 4 bags out this year. Not that Maryam paid them much attention, but it evened out the decorative scheme and was ever so much fun.

Another tradition that we have begun, and I am heartily ashamed that we have not done this sooner as it was super fun, easy and educational, is that we donated food to the local food bank. We did this years ago for one of Anisa's parties and it worked out splendidly then as well. We have been seriously slack on the service component of Ayyam-i-ha but perhaps we can do better from now on. At least there is a plan. I began with a treasure hunt. I hid 20 gold coins (Australian dollars are gold coins) around the house and sent the children off to find them. If I had had more time I would have composed a rhyming riddle giving clues to each location. I intend to do this next time. It is fun for the kids and it helps you remember where you placed them all in case you are, ahem... slightly forgetful. In the end we found them all. I even got to help look myself after developing a spontaneous case of amnesia. But there it was under the fish bowl, just where I left it moments before... not a good sign. Anyway with the funds collected we talked about what we could do with the money to help other people who were not as fortunate as we are. We talked about how 'Abdu'l-Baha always fed the poor and we unanimously agreed to buy groceries for the food bank. We talked about what we might buy, things that will last as opposed to things that would perish, we talked about what people might like to eat and how we could get the most for our money. We grabbed our calculators and hit the store. There was much debate and thought put into some of the items and others were purchased because they were on special. In the end, for 20 dollars I think that the kids did really good. Here is what they collected before we dropped it off at the Food bank. We will definitely be doing this again.We had a special Ayyam-i-Ha dinner with my grandmothers china, final presents and yes Mom that's pizza. Don't judge. Next year I plan to do this on the first night of Ayyam-i-Ha and something wonderfully simple on the last. We'll see.

We made 9 pointed star flowers and wrapped presents to give to friends and overall had a perfectly spiffing festive season.

Juggling

Sometimes I think I have got the whole juggling act down pat, but that's usually right before I hear one of the balls hit the ground reminding me that I am not quite as good as I had momentarily dared to believe. The past few days has seen a flurry of activity in between school work and homeschooling assignments. The kids have been making Ayyam-i-Ha gifts to give to their friends and have attended two parties, in addition to what we have been doing ourselves, but I will post more on that later. We have also been back and forth to the "Broken down, cracked up house" that is looking decidedly less broken down and cracked up, attempting to help Mehran finish off some minor jobs...the tenants are moving in as I write this. So last night, after taking the kids to the last Ayyam-Ha party, we picked up pizza and headed over to help out where we could. Our well intended help lasted about 10 minutes. I managed to dust the shelves in one bedroom closet before Bayan fell over, skinning his knee badly, on the back steps. Despite administering band-aids and pizza his howls of anguish only intensified and we decided to leave. Actually Mehran insisted. We returned this morning bringing lunch and snacks and stayed for to "help" while Mehran and an assistant raced about trying to finish repairing the walls, attach skirting boards, fix the water pressure and fit out the gas stove top- you know...the basics. The girls helped scrub cabinets and dust while Bayan vacuumed and I did odd jobs in between caring for Maryam. There were no more skinned knees, we met the neighbours and the house got cleaner. I won't call it clean, because I don't think you can get it properly clean while construction is still underway. I do, however, pronounce it tidier than when we arrived. And that, dear friends, is the main thing. That - and that this psychotic renovation is just about done.