Go Fish

I recently picked up a pack of Go Fish cards for Karim and we've had a great time playing when we get some alone time during Roqaya's nap or when she is busy playing with her toys. I think it gave hubby and I inspiration to eat more fish. With hubby growing up on the shore of the Mediterranean and on the Nile delta he is familiar with many fish dishes. I grew up in Colorado so am familiar mainly with native lake and river fish. We found a nice little fish market and have been experimenting with different fish and recipes. We normally keep a supply of frozen Tilapia fillets in the freezer. When I was in Egypt we ate fresh, whole Tilapia (Bolti) several times and I really enjoyed it. So, we picked up a few Tilapia and had them cleaned there (cleaning a fish is something I'm not sure I'm ready for). We marinated them in butter and garlic and hubby made a nice stuffing of green peppers, onions, and lemon. They turned out really well and were very tasty. Last night we tried a different fish, a White Bass and changed up the recipe a little, using less lemon and adding a Serrano pepper.
I got pretty good at de-boning fish in Egypt but seem to have lost the skill. It takes me a while to get all the meat out, but on both nights, it was worth it.

This was the Tilapia with rice and salad

Eid Al-Fitr

We celebrated Eid this year on Sept. 10th and since that was a Friday we were able to extend the fun over the whole weekend! We started the week before with a few gifts for the kids to get them excited since this is the first year that Karim really understands what a holiday is. They both love painting and coloring (mostly on the walls) so we thought an art easel was a good idea. They really love it and so far we haven't had any major messes, although it would be nice if I had a separate art room because for now I have to keep it in the kitchen. It works out well though because they can do that while I'm cleaning the kitchen or cooking dinner.

Then on Thursday night Karim got the surprise of his life--a new bike! And, a big boy bike at that. He was so excited, and so was Roqaya, but she was a little jealous too even though she just got her new bike a few weeks before.

Karim was nice and let her have a turn though.

We got up early on Friday and got dressed in our new clothes and headed to the masjid.

After we prayed and had our breakfast (including our first cup of coffee since before Ramadan) we broke out the bikes to take them for a spin outside. Karim did really well and figure out the new bike right away. The brakes were a new feature and he was confused at first because he couldn't ride backward like on his trike. Roqaya mostly just walked around in her new helmet calling it a hat. And then she headed to her best friend, the swing.

The helmet on the swing turned out the be a good thing because she fell off right after I took this picture.
We went to see our friends for lunch and then headed home, all of us ready for bed by 8:00
We had made plans to do something on Saturday but we all woke up in the mood to relax. So we stayed home and just rode the bikes around the block and got ourselves ready for Sunday at Six Flags.
We had a really good time, I think I had more fun on the kid rides than I would have on the adult rides. I'm not really a thrill seeker so the spinning tube ride was about my limit.

So the Sky Coaster was definitely off limits for me.

We rode the carousel a lot and a variety of kid rides that are basically the same just with different characters to ride in--they all pretty much just go in a circle, something I'm not really fond of.

 Karim was not happy that his side of the plane didn't have a steering wheel. The line was small though so they were able to ride again and switch places, then everyone was happy.

At this point it was raining pretty steadily and the kids' clothes were soaked but we kept going and having fun. We took a little break on the train and then the rain stopped and the rest of the day was very pleasant. 

Roqaya fell asleep on the way to Thomas Town but woke up after a quick power nap and only missed one ride.

We headed back to the other side of the park with more kiddie rides to finish off the day. 

We rode the carousel one more time, ran into some friends on the way out and had a nice chat, then headed home. The kids both crashed right away in the car.

It was a great weekend!

Roqaya

Somehow 2 years has gone by since Roqaya joined our family. We didn't really do anything for her birthday since it fell on the second day of Ramadan. She did get a cake and Tayta and Geddo sent her a new bike. She got one just like Karim's but her's is pink. She really loves it and she is learning much quicker than Karim did since she has him to teach her. We practiced inside a few times and then took it for a spin outside. She did pretty well for her first time. She was able to pedal right away (it took Karim a while before he figured that out) but, like Karim, she doesn't understand the concept of steering yet. She didn't get very far because she kept running into the grass and getting stuck, but she had a great time.

At her 2 year check-up at the doctor everything went well and she is in the 95th %ile for height and weight--not too surprising.  Her hair is growing very nicely and I'm able to do more with it although most days we stick to the good ol' pony tail or pig tails because she's not very patient with anything that takes longer than 1 minute. But at least she doesn't pull her barrettes out anymore.

He number 1 favorite thing to do is whatever Karim is doing which is both good and bad as she learns a lot of good things from him, but she also learns the naughty things he does. The good thing is that she listens to me much better than Karim did at that age. Her best talent has to be in throwing a good fit. Something new to me as Karim was never a fit-thrower.  When she gets really mad about something there is no mistaking it. She's been practicing since she was about 6 months old so she's got it down now. I just hope this is one behavior she grows out of soon.


In true 2-year-old fashion she got herself stuck between the banister railings and it took me a while to figure out how to get her out. We were both happy to get her out and I was happy that I didn't have to break the railing. She hugged me for several minutes afterward. Before I got her out though, I made sure to snap a quick picture :)