Gelato and good things

Ooh, the Starbucks addiction is rapidly becoming replaced with a Tim Hortons addiction... Bad! The donuts... The coffees... Ozayr brought back a whole dozen yesterday for the family and my will power is just not so good. Plus I have to fit into some nice clothes for a wedding this weekend! Ack!

Ottawa is lovely and shiny today, after a long bout of rain. We spent a gorgeous afternoon with our lurvely daughters in the Byward Market. We went for a shawarma lunch on Rideau Street - there is good Lebanese food here, and we haven't managed to find really great shawarma in Minneapolis, so this was a much anticipated treat! Then we headed into the market and walked around. I visited my favourite Ottawa stationary store and got a neat-o notebook, some writing paper and some thank-you notes (gifts for Hafsa still coming in - we are blessed with so many kind friends and family!) Then a mandatory summer stop at Piccolo Grande for the best gelato. Maymuna had strawberry (dairy free), Ozayr had honeydew melon and I had chocolate-hazelnut. Hafsa, well, slept.

Our vacation is going by so fast, I can't believe that we're half way through our trip already. This morning we briefly considered trying to extend our tickets, but remembered that Ozayr has a conference to attend as soon as we get back. This is probably good - we are just so settled in here that I'm not sure we'd ever find our way back to Minneapolis!

Lectio Rabies...

...means 'reading frenzy' in Latin. This is the new Central Public Library in Minneapolis. NPR estimates about 20,000 people will drop in for the opening ceremonies. I'll try to give a pseudo-review after we get a chance to see it.


Designed by Cesar Pelli Architects, it is set to open this weekend. Pelli's office, for those out there, has done a number of projects around the world (The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, The Museum of Modern Art - pre Yoshio Taniguchi... and, for our fellow Canadians, his office is tasked with the design of the new terminal and parkade in Winnipeg.). Below is an image of Winnipeg airport at present.


I had the good occasion to fly to the 'Peg for a design charette hosted by the Department of Architecture at the University of Manitoba. It was in the dead of winter, following 30 cm of snow, but it was great to be in Canada again. The snow felt different, more friendly, more... peacekeeperly and less "let's invade Iraq-ly." Here are some images of Mr. Pelli's proposal for the 'Peg. All images are copyright of his office. You can find his website here.

Pod Love

I am having a second honeymoon with my iPod.

CBC Radio has finally started podcasting their radio shows. Yay! So for free I can subscribe to the latest weekly podcast edition of all my favourite radio shows from Canada (you can too, HERE). You see, Canada barely exists here in the United States, it's never in the news and I never know what is going there anymore (funny when you think about how much Canadian news features American politics and the like).

This morning on my walk I enjoyed a great edition of As It Happens - a radio show I listened to almost every day for years when I would drive downtown in the evening to pick up Ozayr from work. Today the ladies had a great story about a particular group of theives in Hamburg, Germany, who steal from high-end grocery stores and restaurants and give their loot to the poor. According to De Speigel online, their booty included venison, gourmet chocolate, Kobe beef filets and bottles of champagne priced at $126.30 each. They've been nicknamed the superhero activists because they pull off their heist wearing comic book hero costumes, and leave notes behind, a la Spiderman. They even posed for a photo on their way out of the store. You can read more about this hilarious story here.

I wonder what this group would think of the grocery stores in Minneapolis - the fanciest I've ever seen. The floors are carpeted at Byerly's, the shelves are black and mahogany at Kowalski's, and heaven forbid you should ever carry your own groceries; if you don't want to drive-through pick up your bags, someone will carry them to your car for you.

On a more serious note, As It Happens also did a disturbing piece on 5 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison. They were awaiting trial (yes, after FOUR years of being detained) and were shipped out by American forces to Albania. Their lawyers literally had to fly out to Albania and look for their clients. Listening to it I was amazed that there are so many mysterious factors and political motivations behind "the war on terror". You can listen to this story too on the AIH website.

Happy Mother's Day to me

It's Mother's Day today, and though I received my gifts already I got a little something extra by being able to get out this afternoon for a little "me" time. Well, it was 1.5 hours and Hafsa came with me, but whatever. I'll take it.

I was sitting in the Starbucks sipping my chai latte and reading the Sunday paper (while rocking Hafsa's stroller back and forth to prevent the wailing). How relaxing. Anyhoo. I read this great opinion piece in the Star Tribune by Lynnell Mickelsen that made me laugh out loud. The whole article is printed here on the Clothesline Blog but this is my favourite excerpt:

The first five years are the most insane. So give yourself credit and be kind. Young moms consistently underestimate what they're going through, starting out with pregnancy, the ultimate sci-fi experience in which women are literally invaded by an alien for 40 weeks. Followed by birth, which is like the worst possible canoe portage multiplied by 30. Followed by four or more years in which they're treated like a political prisoner in their own home---unable to sleep, eat, shower, exercise or read unless allowed by the guards, who are these short, raw and mercurial types who go from beaming to brutal in five seconds.

Three-year-olds are the absolute worst---it’s like living with Saddam Hussein with PMS. Four-year-olds are only slightly better. By age five, things start settling down, although if there’s another two or three-year-old in the house, it's easy to miss.

During this insanity, stay-at-home mothers are often asked by cheerful, casual friends, “So what are you doing besides just taking care of them?” (Just? Just?) Meanwhile, working moms are told, directly or indirectly, that Little Saddam is probably their fault, that if they just stayed home, he’d be an angel. (No, he’d still be three.) In the face of this pressure, I sometimes wonder why young mothers don’t kill their casual friends or in-laws more often. Mostly, I think, it's because they’re too tired.

Strand...

...I think - in Cape Town, South Africa. My brother, sister-in-law and my nieces are moving here (insha'allah).

Christian's Desktop

Christian is our intrepid office manager at the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in the city of Minneapolis, in the great state of Minnesota. (state flower: Cypripedium reginae, or, pink and white lady's slipper/ tree: norway pine / insect: monarch butterfly / beverage: milk / muffin: blueberry / fish: walleye / bird: loon / motto: l'Etoile du Nord - no joke / nickname: Gopher State or North Star State). On his computer desktop was this - tiled in all its grizzly haired splendour. Image courtesy of cbsnews.com.

Ozayr's First Post

I've just come in from work - finishing up my student exit-interviews - and mentally preparing for our College graduation ceremony tomorrow. My department has graciously paid for my ceremony attire; although I cringe thinking about wearing all that frippery - particularly since the colours for Architecture (from my Alma Mater) is a sick pink. Cerise, I think they call it. How Gallic. Jen assumed that I would likely never post anything on this blog - so I'm doing this to prove her wrong...today, at least.

I try to listen to NPR (National Public Radio) on the way to and from work and it's Minnesota equivalent, MPR (yes, Minnesota Public Radio) and heard a story about conjoined twins who are currently being operated on at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester - which prompted me to hurry home to see my girls. I like MPR - it's no substitute for the CBC, but at least they do have As It Happens as part of their evening schedule. I miss Lawrence Wall and Brent Bambury's pithy banter on All In A Day (CBC - Ottawa), but heard that CBC podcasts are now available for some shows. I wonder if Allan Neal still has a Kathleen Edwards obsession.

National Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
As It Happens
Rob's On-Line Book Journal

kids hair

Maymuna had her first professional haircut this past week. I've been cutting her hair since she was a baby, but I think she's getting to the age where it will soon start to matter that her bangs are crooked. Plus the other night Ozayr said he thought she looked homeless... so we agreed it was time for a more polished look.

We tried once before to get her hair cut at the mall - with disastrous results. Many, many tears led to a traumatized haircutter, an apologetic mom and the purchase of several Berenstain Bears books. Anyway we found a place locally called Kids Hair. According to their website they specialize in dealing with kids, and once we arrived and saw "gum removal" on the list of services we knew they must be pros. The chairs are all kid-sized (complete with safety belt) and there are TV's playing videos at every station. Hilariously enough Maymuna was actually turned off by the videos. It turns out, as I've discovered lately, that she's afraid of puppets. She was traumatized by the man dressed in a panda suit on the Your Baby Can Read video (she said "I don't like cow" for days after that), and Grover made her cry when I tried to show her Sesame Street for the first time. Anyhoo. So The Wiggles are on the TV and there's someone dressed in a giant animal outfit - panic! So she insisted tearfully that the TV be turned off... that ALL the TVs be turned off. Luckily we were the last clients of the day, so they didn't mind when Ozayr went around to all of the stations turning all the TVs off.

Where were we? Oh yes, so the TVs are off and Maymuna is clutching my neck (I'm so close that I'm getting sprayed with the water bottle as Marci gets started). There's a GIANT tear all welled up in her left eye, I can see it threatening to fall. I'm telling her how proud I am of her and how she's a big girl now and I can see she's trying to be SO brave, machallah. And then all the sudden it's all done! They are FAST! It was worth every penny of $15. We were slightly early for our 4:45 appointment and we were walking to the car by 5:00 with lollipop in hand.

Here are some pics of Maymuna's transformation, before & after...

the art of the handwritten note

So I got my Mother's Day gift last night. Ozayr just can't wait until the actual *day* a gift is due - if he's bought it, he just can't wait to give it (so I often get my gifts early). Anyway, he knows very well what makes me happy: he came home last night with a big bag with stationary, a new fountain pen and a cool book about the art of letter writing:

The Art of the Handwritten Note

I thought I'd post about this because lots of people know about my paper obsession, and that I have been writing letters and short stories my whole life. I actually credit my Mom for this, I watched her write letters on blue airmail paper to our relatives my whole childhood (before the phone rates got so cheap). I had automatic penpals in most of my cousins and grandmother. Perhaps it started out as a chore (the obligatory thank-you note after a birthday or holiday) but I really grew to love expressing myself on paper.

According to Hallmark it's not a 'dying art' at all:

• 58% of moms say their children write thank-you notes.

• 29% of consumers say they are writing more letters.

• 40% of stationery users are men.

• 34% of consumers say they enjoy writing notes and letters.

• 14% of kids have pen pals.

• 46% of grandmothers say their grandchildren write to them.

There's nothing like receiving a beautiful envelope in the mail and the anticipation of opening it. I always make a cup of tea before sitting down to read the contents of letter - then I savour it! When it's my turn to write, my inspiration definitely comes from choosing the right paper for the occasion and the person I have in mind to write to. Here are some of my favourite links about letterwriting, notewriting and of course, lots of beautiful paper!

How to Write a Thank you Note
Tips and Ideas for Note Writing
Papique!
Kate's Paperie
Crane's Papers

what is spina bifida occulta?

I thought this might be a good way to provide a little more information about spina bifida for those who are curious about Hafsa's condition.

Spina bifida occulta is the mildest form of spina bifida. There is an opening in one or more of the vertebrae (bones) of the spinal column.

There are generally no particular symptoms to spina bifida occulta, but there are a few characteristics that alerted the doctors to Hafsa's condition:

• small dimple in the skin along the spine (sacral region)
• fat pat over the occulta (or lipoma)
  
• skin tag/birthmark over base of spine
  

Not all of these signs are always present at birth, but may develop later in life.

Possible effects include: incontinence, foot deformities, weakness of the lower limbs, loss of reflexes, or numbness of the legs. Alhamdulillah, Hafsa currently functions well, with full mobility in her legs and feet, proper reflex response etc.

Hafsa also has a tethered spinal cord, often associated with SB. When a child is born, the spinal cord is normally located opposite the disc between the first and second lumbar vertebrae in the upper part of the lower back. In a baby with spina bifida, the spinal cord is still attached to the surrounding skin, preventing it from ascending normally so the spinal cord is low-lying or tethered. As the child continues to grow, the spinal cord can become stretched, becoming damaged by directly stretching it and by interfering with the blood supply to the spinal cord. The result can be progressive neurological, urological or orthopedic deterioration.

This is why Hafsa will have surgery this summer (July 5th) to de-tether her spinal cord. The operation is expected to be 2-3 hours duration, and she will stay in the hospital 3-5 days.


Information on tethered spinal cord

General information about Spina bifida occulta

introducing us...

I'm starting this blog thing... all the rage I know, and I'm late to the party as usual because everyone seems to have a blog already these days. After listening to another stay-at-home-mom talk about how much she enjoys it I thought that I might like this little outlet into the real world too... I love to write in general and this also might be a nice way for friends and family from Canada to check in on us once and while. It might even save me sending out so many emails with baby pictures too!

Oh Canada, how we miss you! What do I miss? Well, mostly our families, and my friends, my dear friends. But other than that, I miss... Tim Hortons - EVERYTHING in Tim Hortons. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and I knew that in Ottawa it would have been the first drive-through Iced Cappuccino day of the season!! I also miss my street and our old house, our little townhome on Jackman Terrace. Utica Avenue is nice and has old beautiful trees and homes with actual character to them, but sometimes I long for that Kanata-ness - not because it's aesthetically pleasing necessarily, but the suburbs were our first home, where our first daughter came home from the hospital. I loved that little house and I wasn't quite ready to leave it.

Not that Minneapolis is shabby, people. In fact, TRUTH BE TOLD, I like Minneapolis just a smidge better! I know!! The outrage!! But the parks, the trails, the lakes, the fun for kids and weather (that hey, is not any worse than Ottawa's) all make it a very happy place to live. Now, once I have convinced all my family and closest friends to move here, I will be fully satisfied. Here are some Minn links to entice you Canucks...

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/grandrounds/dist_cl.htm
http://www.hennepintheatredistrict.org/
http://www.walkerart.org/index.wac
http://www.minneapolis.org/

And for the shoppers (you KNOW who you are...), Travel + Leisure called Minneapolis the 4th best shopping destination in the country behind only New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Here are some of my favourite stores, just not available up north...

http://www.hannaandersson.com
http://www.brightonretail.com/store/wishlist.php
http://www.crateandbarrel.com
http://www.givemyregardsto.com
http://www.paper-source.com

Minneapolis

Ottawa