tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21427133926161914882024-03-13T14:50:12.956-07:00sumeera younis.sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.comBlogger355125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-87788252188882409652020-04-12T14:32:00.000-07:002020-04-12T20:09:18.106-07:00Do I regret having minimized during quarantine?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It has now been one month since my work switched us to a fully remote schedule. The kids have been doing home school for four weeks. And my mother-in-law came to stay with us about three weeks ago.<br />
<br />
The six of us have been living in a 3 bedroom, 1,000 square foot apartment. If you know us, you know that in spring of last year, we made some major changes in our life. We were living in a 5 bedroom house on a corner lot with a full basement. It wasn't a huge house but we definitely had more room to spread out, a cul-de-sac to ride bikes on and a garden that is in full bloom right now.<br />
<br />
After Feraz's dad unexpectedly passed away, we thought more about the life we wanted to live. If we were to die, what would we leave behind? What would be the value of all the stuff we were accumulating and what would we have wished we had more time for?<br />
<br />
When it came to the stuff, it was easy. All the <strike>crap</strike> things we had would just be a burden for someone to take care of. And the thing we unequivocally agreed on was that we would want to have spent enough time with each other. At the time, we had an au pair, Feraz was working from home at a job he didn't really care for and I was commuting an hour each way into DC for work.<br />
<br />
We decided to make some major changes. Feraz would become a stay-at-home dad, we would apply the DC public school lottery to see if the girls could get into a school close to my work and we would drastically minimize our life and move to the city.<br />
<br />
The girls got into an amazing school on the same street as my work and we started the hunt for a place in DC. We decided to go with an apartment so we wouldn't have to worry about maintenance or landscaping and we would still have space to spread out around the building. This would also be a low commitment way to see if we wanted to move back to the city on a more long-term basis. We put most of our large belongings on FB Marketplace and either donated or sold most of our small stuff on LetGo. Initially, I had been really excited to get rid of things but as I gave away stuff from my travels or sold the dining table that we had so many meals around, there was a certain pain in letting go.<br />
<br />
The move was a great one for our family. Before the quarantine, I could hug my family good-bye and be sitting at my desk at work in under ten minutes. In the mornings, Feraz would get the kids ready and I would walk the girls to school. I got to participate in events at their school and when I couldn't Feraz and Na'eel would be there. I could stop by the house for lunch anytime I wanted and see the boys.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDXBTF1LTLQ/XpIV1G-1aTI/AAAAAAACMtg/ea_92tQr8VQwg578l-Eqo9NJJ1Hy5e7DQCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_4082.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDXBTF1LTLQ/XpIV1G-1aTI/AAAAAAACMtg/ea_92tQr8VQwg578l-Eqo9NJJ1Hy5e7DQCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_4082.HEIC" width="640" /></a><br />
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I have long theorized that families who live in small places get along better and at least in our case, so far, that has been true. I'm guessing part of the reason for that is that even if there is a disagreement or squabble, the incentive to work it out is high when you can't really get away from each other. Haha. So, for better or worse, our family unit continues to grow stronger and more cohesive.<br />
<br />
We all spend most of our day in our one open living space which has our living room, kitchen and dining area. If you follow along on Instagram, you have probably seen that space many, many times. It's been totally fine. We have electricity, food, water, internet connection, temperature controlled living. We talk to each other throughout the day and it hasn't felt crowded. Maybe that's because without a bunch of things everywhere, it's the people that make the space and we have had the room to work on our relationships with each other.<br />
<br />
In the last ten months, I have not missed the stuff we have let go. There have been very few instances where I've wanted or needed something we don't have anymore. And lately, I've been getting the same question a lot. I bet you miss your life in the suburbs now, don't you? And after thinking about it a bit. The answer is easy. Not at all. What we've gained as a family by valuing stuff less and our togetherness more has not been diminished by having to be quarantined together, it has expanded.<br />
<br />
I hope that the opportunity to slow down in some ways has helped people think more deeply about what is important to them. That over-scheduled and chaotic lives haven't just translated to too many zoom calls and house parties and instead have allowed for connection with the things that give our lives meaning.<br />
<br />
Right now, all the kids are sleeping (well, Nouri is 'resting'), the apartment is clean and both the dishwasher and laundry machine are buzzing. I lay on the sofa with the sun streaming, a tea in my hand, my book besides me. I have everything I could ever need and every ounce of privilege I have is not lost on me. I am grateful.</div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-5087412001397540482020-03-24T20:41:00.000-07:002020-03-24T20:41:07.271-07:00This time tomorrow, where will we be?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 12px;">
<i><span jsname="YS01Ge">On a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea</span><span jsname="YS01Ge">This time tomorrow, what will we know?</span><span jsname="YS01Ge">Will we still be here watching an in-flight movie show?</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 12px;">
<i><span jsname="YS01Ge"></span><span jsname="YS01Ge">I'll leave the sun behind me</span><span jsname="YS01Ge">And I'll watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by</span><span jsname="YS01Ge">Seven miles below me</span><span jsname="YS01Ge">I can see the world and it ain't so big at all</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
That song is really hitting home right now!<br />
<br />
I went on a long walk today and just minutes into it, my ear buds died and I found myself without the usual noise of a podcast or music in my ears. I heard a fire engine race by, a tennis ball being hit on a wall in an empty church parking lot, the swish swish of a sweeper's broom and of course the birds all around. And I thought, if these are the sounds of an apocalypse, they are strangely soothing and calm.<br />
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Walking without purpose or constraint is such a luxury. And walking without distraction gave me a lot of time to think and reflect on the last few weeks.<br />
<br />
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One of my favorite songs is One Day Like This by Elbow. Guy Garvey sings, “Throw those curtains wide,
just one day a year like this could do me right.” Whenever I have a day like
that, I consciously store it in my mind and revisit it again and again right after it happens so I don’t forget the details. If I can, I write it out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In my time, I've had some bad days, weeks and even months. I've needed that store of good days to give me hope. I've come to really believe that one day a year like this could do me right. And getting through those really dark times when I didn't know when my mind would be strong again taught me to be patient. It taught me that it is ok to wait through the discomfort. To be still. </div>
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<br /></div>
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We are all collectively being put into that exercise right now. We are being forced to live with uncertainty and that is ok. You can live there now. You won't always live there. And in the meantime, there is still a lot of beauty. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
My gratitude list grows longer each day we are in quarantine. Water, electricity, safe shelter, my family's health, the love that flows through our home, laughter every day, warm meals, sitting together around the dining table three times a day, creating art, reconnecting with so many people I love, good books, my favorite songs. Morning meetings with the family. We sit in a circle. Our knees touch. "My name is Ms. Pongo, I'm happy to be here. My name is Nouri, I'm happy to be here." And so on around our little circle. And it's true. I <i>am</i> happy to be here.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I'm afraid to write down what is good. I feel like Holden Caulfield when he says, "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." Maybe the universe will test me. All this goodness can be taken away. But for now, it is here. I hold it close and I cherish it.<br />
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-46193958053855962372020-03-20T14:13:00.003-07:002020-03-20T14:16:44.831-07:00Turn and face the strange<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Ch..ch..ch..chaaaanges!<br />
<br />
This is a week that very few people could have ever imagined would come to be. But it came and here we are. Adjusting, adapting and stronger than ever?!?! (Fake it till you make it.)<br />
<br />
I've always thought I was an extrovert but as I've gotten older, I've come to realize that there aren't many experiences that I get more pleasure from than reading books, listening to music and spending time with my family. So, if the experience I was having right now was happening in a vacuum, I think I would be pretty content. The uncertainty of the future and when things will go back to 'normal' do weigh on me a bit but I'm trying to keep this great chart a friend of mine shared in mind:<br />
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<br />
I mentioned that we were trying to figure out what to do about my parents who are in Pakistan as they spend the first quarter of the year there and we decided that it would be best for them to come back and they agreed. Thanks to my amazing brother and sister, they are on their way back and will be coming to a home stocked with groceries and ready for them to quarantine for a couple of weeks. Praying that they get here safely, free from germs and any extreme stress or travel delays.<br />
<br />
I've been listening to a lot of my favorite calming music recently, Cat Stevens, John Denver and the Beatles Anthology Highlights. I've also been listening to a lot of the Armchair Expert, most recently the episode with Rainn Wilson. All great for my ears!<br />
<br />
I'm reading "The Other Americans" which isn't a light read but still a nice escape from social media and the news.<br />
<br />
Overall, feeling grateful for all the good that continues. The good I see in people, the good in art, the good inside myself and my family and the time to stop and reflect on the good of the past and the good of the future. May your days be filled with blessings and may you be aware of them.<br />
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Day 5 Schedule:<br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:00 am – 9:00 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Wake kids up, brush
teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Breakfast: Scrambled
eggs and toast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Check-in feelings and
circle time to say welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Dadi’s turn to share.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 am – 9:45 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Structured free play</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Click puzzle toys and
matching doll puzzle. Clean up begins at 9:35.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:45 am – 10 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10 am – 11:30 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready to go out</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outdoor walk/bike ride</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "pt sans" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Neighborhood</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> bike time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11:30 am – 12 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Reading out loud
videos.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 mins
storylineonline.net<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 minutes reading in
room</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We haven't managed to do this most days because the kids have been extending outside time which has been great!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:00 pm – 12:15 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Laugh time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "pt sans" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Probably will just let the kids tell Alexa to fart. This is always a fan favorite. </span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 2.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 2.3pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:15 pm – 1 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Lunch</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Packed Bentgo boxes
for kids. Teachers eat dinner leftovers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1pm -3 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nap/Rest time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">No dinner prep today because it's pizza night!</span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">3:30 pm - 4:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">School time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Khan Academy for 30
mins for Nouri. Koala Kids box for everyone else.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:00 pm – 5:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner prep</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pizza from Market and
Oven for adults and Dominos for kids. </span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:30 pm -6:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Focus on conversation.
We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something
memorable that happened each day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">6:30 pm -7:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready for bed</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:00 pm – 7:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Stories and
prayers/reflections</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I am going to use this
time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express
our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more
meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Have been reading the Magic Tree house all week which has been good for the 3 and 5 year old audience.</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:30 pm – 8:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clean up house and
prep for tomorrow</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m adding one deep clean
thing here for each evening to make sure our house stays in good shape.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p>House is pretty spic and span so may do my organizational task at this time which is to organize the 100 cards I have so I can send them out to friends during the quarantine. </o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:30 pm – 9:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Relax</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Will chat with Dadi.</span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 pm – 10:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Work out, knit, write
or do any other hobby</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Same videos again
today. I will be doing </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_783b06vFto"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> and </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1H3xO3x_Js"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:00 pm – Bedtime</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>TV Time!</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">We have started watching Westworld and really like it!</span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Maybe Never</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Self care</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I feel like the reading/working out/TV time are enough for me and the idea of doing some beauty ritual hasn't really been jiving. So, for now I'm taking that off my evening routine. </span></div>
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</tbody></table>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-7989717716947126732020-03-19T06:39:00.001-07:002020-03-20T08:07:28.255-07:00I'm still standing, better than I ever did<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hU0IONDWn9c/XnTcD5KJMLI/AAAAAAACJqA/k1ypnlfj3NQ7wyVBXT3jyzWpcf95slWYgCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3939.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hU0IONDWn9c/XnTcD5KJMLI/AAAAAAACJqA/k1ypnlfj3NQ7wyVBXT3jyzWpcf95slWYgCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3939.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sound machine has never been so fun!</td></tr>
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<br />Hope everyone is hanging in there! We have been able to establish a pretty good routine this week and it's nice to see the kids anticipating what is next and finding calm in that.<br />
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In our house, we haven't talked to the kids about what is going on beyond what I shared on Monday since our oldest is 5 and I don't think she would really understand or there would be much value in it. </div>
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I am going to try to stay positive on here because there is already a lot of talk on the internets about all the things to worry about. But know that everyone is dealing with some of the negative impacts of Covid-19. My parents are in Pakistan and we are struggling with whether to have them come home or stay there. </div>
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Being positive and looking for the good doesn't invalidate those feelings or negate the gravity of this situation. Everyone has a different survival mode and for me, trying to see the bright side (and looking at lots of <a href="https://www.al.com/news/j66j-2020/03/299b6975e03642/these-coronavirus-memes-in-your-moment-of-levity-spreading-faster-than-covid19.html" target="_blank">hysterical memes</a>) is truly the only option.</div>
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That said, there have been a lot of things about being home that I have loved. Namely, spending so much time with our nuclear family. I get to see all the funny little things the kids do throughout the day and we have so many opportunities to connect. We have all our meals together and have really established a nice rhythm. I am so grateful for this gift of togetherness and of health. If we've learned anything, that can be taken away in a second, so if you have it, value it.</div>
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You can see that our schedules have a rhythm now. Not much is changing. I'll do one more tomorrow and after that, I'll just print out these five and rotate them for the most part.</div>
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Day 4 Schedule:</div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:00 am – 9:00 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Wake kids up, brush
teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Breakfast: Pre-made pancakes and waffles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Check-in feelings and
circle time to say welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mama’s turn to share.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 am – 9:45 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Structured free play</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Click puzzle toys and
matching doll puzzle. Clean up begins at 9:35.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:45 am – 10 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10 am – 11:30 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready to go out</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outdoor walk/bike ride</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bikeride around the neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11:30 am – 12 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Reading out loud
videos.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 mins
storylineonline.net<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 minutes reading in
room</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:00 pm – 12:15 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Laugh time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Fast/Slow
singing dance party. I just sing one song forever and when I sing it fast
they dance fast and when I sing it slow they dance really slow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:15 pm – 1 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Lunch</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Packed Bentgo boxes
for kids. Teachers only get coffee.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1pm -3 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nap/Rest time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Do dinner prep so
everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">"Dadi" (Paternal grandmother) arrives today so we will be cooking a lot more than usual. Will use nap time to clean up the house and get things ready!)</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">3:30 pm - 4:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">School time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nouri is going with Papa to get Dadi from Delaware so Nia and Na'eel will do books and small toys while I work.</span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:00 pm – 5:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner prep</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Aloo and peppers, channa, palou, salad, raitha and kebabs. Yum!</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:30 pm -6:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Focus on conversation.
We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something
memorable that happened each day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">6:30 pm -7:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready for bed</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:00 pm – 7:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Stories and
prayers/reflections</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I am going to use this
time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express
our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more
meaningfully about the things they are thankful for. </span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:30 pm – 8:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clean up house and
prep for tomorrow</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">After clean-up, we will just chill and catch-up with Dadi tonight. May play it by ear for the evenings the next few nights.</span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:30 pm – 9:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Read</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Canceled!</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 pm – 10:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Work out, knit, write
or do any other hobby</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Canceled!</span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:00 pm – 10:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">One organizational
task</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Canceled!</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:30 pm - Bedtime</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Read, watch TV, veg,
whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the
later side.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;">Canceled!</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-18289765913409082562020-03-18T07:12:00.000-07:002020-03-18T07:23:28.557-07:00Covid Schedule - Day Three<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Day two went really well and the schedule continues to be really useful for us generally. Since the weather was so great yesterday, the kids stayed out at the Arboretum for longer than we had planned. This, of course, is totally fine. If the kids are really immersed in something, I always prefer deep play over moving on to the next thing.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VfvpbxjQVtE/XnIswRClnWI/AAAAAAACJhk/06u1h5ho_cc28jW-oxke_4bnBxpqsiIqgCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3871.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VfvpbxjQVtE/XnIswRClnWI/AAAAAAACJhk/06u1h5ho_cc28jW-oxke_4bnBxpqsiIqgCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3871.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nia is focused during puzzle time. Probably need to get her some other puzzles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ikGpO3wZDy8/XnIswVGgpYI/AAAAAAACJhk/yroewdkFBrsBm_A8Ah6bmGsjz-W9EiOtQCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3876.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ikGpO3wZDy8/XnIswVGgpYI/AAAAAAACJhk/yroewdkFBrsBm_A8Ah6bmGsjz-W9EiOtQCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3876.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nouri doing her share at morning meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kx26CNZJsHM/XnIswdprqhI/AAAAAAACJhk/9LkoPv_YFW4XP6ASEnbBubGe5GctxYyBQCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3902.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kx26CNZJsHM/XnIswdprqhI/AAAAAAACJhk/9LkoPv_YFW4XP6ASEnbBubGe5GctxYyBQCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3902.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Na'eel had his first (we think) and second and fifth and seventh pakora tonight!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
My evening devolved into reading about virus implications and then working so I got basically nothing done and felt a bit anxious going to bed. My Whoop says that I had three disturbances last night but I swear I was up the whole night tossing and turning. I'll share some resources that I'm going to try to follow soon.<br />
<br />
<b>Day 3 Schedule: </b><br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: white; border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 0px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:00 am – 9:00 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Wake kids up, brush
teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Breakfast: Overnight
oats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Check-in feelings and
circle time to say welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Papa’s turn to share.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 am – 10:30 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bath and Structured
free play</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Today we will do bath
and the kid that isn’t in the bath can do Magnatiles. Clean up begins at 10:20.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:30 am – 11:30 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outdoor walk/bike ride</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Will just ride close to
the building.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11:30 am – 12 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Reading time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 mins
storylineonline.net<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 minutes reading in
room</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:00 pm – 12:15 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Laugh time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Each
person will have two minutes to draw a funny face and then show it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 2.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 2.3pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:15 pm – 1 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Lunch</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Packed Bentgo boxes
for kids. Leftover dinner for the teachers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1pm -3 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nap/Rest time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Do dinner prep so
everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">3:30 pm - 4:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">School time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Khan Academy for 30
mins for Nouri. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Stamping activity when
they wake up. (Use stamp book for them to choose a design they want to make
and each person will try to make it.)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:00 pm – 5:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner prep</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Salmon and roasted
carrots</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:30 pm -6:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Focus on conversation.
We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something
memorable that happened each day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">6:30 pm -7:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready for bed</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:00 pm – 7:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Stories and
prayers/reflections</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I am going to use this
time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express
our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more
meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:30 pm – 8:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clean up house and
prep for tomorrow</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m adding one deep clean
thing here for each evening to make sure our house stays in good shape.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Today, will skip the
deep clean activity to hang out with Dadi!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:30 pm – 9:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Social media</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 pm – 10:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Work out, knit, write
or do any other hobby</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Same videos again
today. I will be doing </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_783b06vFto"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> and </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1H3xO3x_Js"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:00 pm – 10:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">One organizational
task</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I will try to do one
organizational thing at this time. 15 min minimum. For today, organize two
shelves in my closet.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:30 pm - Bedtime</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Read, watch TV, veg,
whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the
later side.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m going to try to do
one maintenance thing each night like nails, fix hair, face mask because I’m
the type of person to let it all go when I don’t have to go into work. (Still
have not done this even one night…tonight I will try!!)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</tbody></table>
</div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-89809942183547120042020-03-16T21:05:00.000-07:002020-03-16T21:10:22.661-07:00Covid Quarantine - Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<br />
Day one is done!<br />
<br />
The two main things I didn't anticipate about day one were that I would wake up super late (woke up to my daughter saying, "It's wake up time!" The rest of the family was already up. So, tomorrow I will set my alarm... and wake up when it goes off.<br />
<br />
I also didn't anticipate having about an hour and a half of work to finish up tonight. So, tomorrow I'm going to try to be more strict about focusing and knocking out the must do's first thing in the morning. I'm also going to be adding a "Stop" and "Go" sign to our door so the kids know when they can come visit and when they can't.<br />
<br />
Overall, I really loved today. It was so nice to have our whole family together, to witness a lot of the little things I miss each day and to have less outside distraction.<br />
<br />
This morning when I went out to the kitchen I did a funny dance that Nouri always does when she is happy and sang, "It's home school day! It's home school day!" And Nouri yelled, "Noooo! You can't come to school in pajamas!" So I ran to the room and put on pants and ran back and she said, "You still have a pajama top on!" Nothing gets by that kid. So, I changed again and then Feraz said, "Your hair is a mess!" So, I ran to fix my hair and Nia said, "No! Come back! You are fine. You are ready for school." Na'eel laughed his head off at all this. It was a pretty great start.<br />
<br />
The girls were excited about the schedule because we had gone over it the night before and then again at breakfast. I was able to do 'morning meeting' with the kids before signing on for work. All in all, the schedule really helped us structure our day, avoid fighting and whining and provide balance. I'll keep checking the energy of each person in the family (especially mine!) and modify as needed.<br />
<br />
The hardest part was probably pushing myself to do the evening stuff. It's easy to do what's best for the kids but I'm just as likely to eat a tub of ice cream and spend my evening on social media. Which doesn't really make me feel great. I'm going to try to expand social distancing to social media distancing as well. I will still go on it (it's still on the schedule!) but really try to reduce it more each day. That said, I pushed myself to do the evening stuff and felt great about getting it all done.<br />
<br />
Hoping tomorrow is a smooth day as well! Here is what I have on deck.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Day 2 Schedule:</b><br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: white; border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 0px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:00 am – 9:00 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Wake kids up, brush
teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Breakfast: Kodiak
pancakes with berries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Check-in feelings and
circle time to say welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nouri’s turn to share.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 am – 9:45 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Structured free play</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Today we will do
puzzles. Clean up begins at 9:35.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:45 am – 10 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10 am – 11:30 am</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready to go out</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Outdoor walk/bike ride</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Weather looks better
today so will extend outdoor time a bit. </span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11:30 am – 12 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Reading out loud
videos.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 mins
storylineonline.net<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15 minutes reading in
room</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:00 pm – 12:15 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Laugh time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Each
person will have a challenge to find an object and use it in a funny way.
Like use a slipper as a phone. Each person gets a couple minutes to go find
something and then ‘present’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 2.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 2.3pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12:15 pm – 1 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Lunch</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Packed Bentgo boxes
for kids. Toast and fried eggs for teachers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1pm -3 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Nap/Rest time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Do dinner prep so
everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">3:30 pm - 4:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">School time</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Khan Academy for 30
mins for Nouri. Painting for everyone else or another walk if weather is
nice.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:00 pm – 5:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner prep</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Chawaal, raitha and
pakora.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="111"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">5:30 pm -6:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Family dinner</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Focus on conversation.
We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something
memorable that happened each day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">6:30 pm -7:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Get ready for bed</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"></td>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:00 pm – 7:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Stories and
prayers/reflections</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I am going to use this
time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express
our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more
meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">7:30 pm – 8:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clean up house and
prep for tomorrow</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m adding one deep clean
thing here for each evening to make sure our house stays in good shape.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Today, steam mop all
wood floors.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">8:30 pm – 9:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Social media</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">9:00 pm – 10:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Work out, knit, write
or do any other hobby</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Same videos again
today. I will be doing </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_783b06vFto"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> and </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1H3xO3x_Js"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:00 pm – 10:30 pm</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">One organizational
task</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I will try to do one
organizational thing at this time. 15 min minimum. For today, organize the
front closet.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10:30 pm - Bedtime</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Read, watch TV, veg,
whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the
later side.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="background: #9CC2E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="top" width="218"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m going to try to do
one maintenance thing each night like nails, fix hair, face mask because I’m
the type of person to let it all go when I don’t have to go into work.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "pt sans" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-68535089608034348142020-03-15T17:40:00.004-07:002020-03-15T18:11:48.235-07:00Covid Quarantine for the Type A Parent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Remember last Sunday when our biggest collective concern was the time change? Indeed, times </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">have</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> changed, probably much more than most of us could have ever imagined in this past week. As we live with this new reality, most of us will have to make some significant changes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve noticed that many of my friends are dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress in these uncertain times. I say this without any knowledge of its truth or certainty but mostly with a blind faith - Everything will be ok. We will get through this. And in the very, very worst case scenario, we won’t. And that is ok too, because that is the ultimate destination anyways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Whenever I feel overly anxious or helpless, I love to make a plan. I’ve been telling my kids that right now we are staying in because we are superheroes fighting some nasty germs. If we stay in, they can’t get us and they will shrivel up and die. So far, the kids have been enjoying being inside and having added family time. I hope to keep it that way by making a plan for success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">When I first searched ideas for how to keep kids busy during a quarantine, I quickly become overwhelmed by the hundreds of suggestions and resources. I decided to make a more basic schedule and build on it as time goes on. Even though this schedule looks pretty packed, I think it will actually help our family slow down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Keep in mind, the schedule below is what works for our family (3 kids – 5, 3 and 1. One stay-at-home parent and one teleworking parent in a 1000 square foot apartment). It won’t work for everyone but hope it helps others with young kids. For any schedule, I would <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>build in laughter, movement and learning</u></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This week the main objective is to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>get the kids used to the schedule and find a family rhythm</u></b>. Next week, I’ll think more about a curriculum and learning goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Try to implement this as early as possible</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> The hope is that kids can go back to schools in two to three weeks but we have to acknowledge the reality that it may be longer. If that’s the case, having a rhythm in place will be all the more beneficial. So, you may need to resort to junk food and screen time, but hold off as long as you can! Sugared up, over-stimulated kids in confined places will not do anyone good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Follow along on Instagram @reclaimingparenting for recipes, tips and updates on how things are going. I’ll edit this as we learn and add the next day’s schedule the evening before.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">8:00 am – 9:00 am<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Wake kids up, brush teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Breakfast: Overnight Oats (Prepped 12 overnight oats on Sunday to use for various meals throughout the week.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Try to mimic school day mornings as much as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Check-in feelings and circle time to say welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">9:00 am – 9:45 am<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Structured free play<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today we will do Magnatiles. Clean up begins at 9:35.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As needed we will incorporate online learning tools to the mix. These resources look good:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://learn.khanacademy.org/khan-academy-kids/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Khan Academy Kids</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome/grades-prek-k.html?promo_code=6294&magazineName=classroommagazines"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Scholastic Classroom</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">9:45 am – 10 am<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">10 am – 11 am<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Get ready to go out<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Outdoor walk/bike ride<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I will schedule this for longer intervals in the future but I think it will be low 40s at this time tomorrow so will just do something low-key around the neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">11 am – 12 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Crafts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Play-doh. Put down newspapers on the table. Start clean up at 11:50.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">12:00 pm – 12:15 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Laugh time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Watch funny videos, tell jokes, jump around or something else to laugh. This is a good opportunity to reset if the morning hasn’t been going too well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today we will watch the song that never ends video. Kids request.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 2.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="border: 1pt solid; height: 2.3pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">12:15 pm – 1 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Lunch<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Packed Bentgo boxes for kids. (Pack lunches the night before, this will help the day go more smoothly.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">1pm -3 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Nap/Rest time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Do dinner prep so everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">3:30 pm - 4:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">School time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Our younger kids nap can often run past 4:30 so this is mostly for our oldest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today, we will do letter tracing book and write a card for someone. We will put a stamp on it and go put it in the mailbox either today or tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">5:00 pm – 5:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Family dinner prep<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Stir Fry with chicken and walnuts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">5:30 pm -6:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Family dinner<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Focus on conversation. We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something memorable that happened each day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">6:30 pm -7:00 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Get ready for bed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;"><td style="border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">7:00 pm – 7:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Stories and prayers/reflections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I am going to use this time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">7:30 pm – 8:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Clean up house and prep for tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’m adding one deep clean thing here for each evening to make sure our house stays in good shape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today, clean bathrooms.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;"><td style="border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">8:30 pm – 9:00 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Social media<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">9:00 pm – 10:00 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Work out, knit, write or do any other hobby<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’m still nervous about using our building’s gym. I’ll be trying to do videos at home or getting a run in at some point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today, I will be doing </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_783b06vFto"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> and </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1H3xO3x_Js"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;"><td style="border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">10:00 pm – 10:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">One organizational task<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I will try to do one organizational thing at this time. 15 min minimum. For today, clean off the top of my blue desk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Pick a drawer, a basket, a closet and tackle it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background: rgb(156, 194, 229); border: 1pt solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 116.85pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">10:30 pm - Bedtime<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Read, watch TV, veg, whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the later side.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’m going to try to do one maintenance thing each night like nails, fix hair, face mask because I’m the type of person to let it all go when I don’t have to go into work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-59829740396935347702018-05-19T18:36:00.000-07:002020-05-05T18:43:14.248-07:00Family Pictures - Spring 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It seems like the only time I actually hit publish on my posts is when I need to easily share our family pictures. But one day I’ll actually edit the hundreds of other posts I’ve written and I’ll have a good archive of the kids’ early days.</div>
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It’s hard to believe that we are already well on our way to welcoming our third baby. This pregnancy has felt like it has gone on forever. And in some ways, I suppose it has. I found out I was pregnant in early 2017 and was both nervous and excited. Nia was still very young but knowing that I wanted another baby at some point, I tried to be positive. That was a short lived pregnancy and before the second month, I miscarried.</div>
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After that I did know that I wanted to continue growing our family and luckily we got pregnant again shortly after. When we went to California last spring I was pretty sure I was pregnant but wanted to wait until I got home to test. I feel like too many of my memories over the last 8 years have been complicated by negative pregnancy tests.</div>
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After a long flight and wrangling two kids home, we were exhausted and grumpy. After everyone was asleep I took the test and it was positive. The next few weeks, I was really sick – a great sign! Around the 7 week mark, we went to check for a heartbeat because of my history. Although there was no heartbeat, my progesterone levels were high and so the midwives were hopeful. The next two weeks were a game of maybe this is a viable pregnancy, maybe it isn’t.</div>
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My progesterone levels went up, up, up into the 100,000s. I even got a call congratulating me from the midwives because they were rising just as they would in a normal pregnancy. I continued to be sick as a dog so hope levels were high as well.</div>
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Unfortunately a heartbeat was never found and the midwives consulted with an exacerbated OB who came in and did another ultrasound and said something along the lines of, “There’s no heartbeat, what do you want me to tell her??” as I sat right there and tried to not let my tears overflow. I just nodded and did that ‘what can you do?’ smile. After the OB left, I’m sure I bawled. All these losses blend together at some point.</div>
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This was the day before Ramadan 2017 and the silver lining was that I was able to fast for the first time in four years. Unfortunately I hadn’t prepared for it at all! Ultimately, it was a great Ramadan but my miscarriage still hadn’t started by the end. I should have been more worried but since my midwives didn’t seem concerned, I really wasn’t either.</div>
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We went to Michigan for Eid and on the day before Eid, my miscarriage began. I expected it to be uneventful as all of my miscarriages so far had been and in the beginning it was. We went back to DC and resumed our regular life.</div>
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On a Thursday night I woke up knowing something was wrong. I was bleeding profusely and without too many gorey details we quickly got changed and headed to urgent care.</div>
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The first PSA break for this post:</div>
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<li>I almost stayed home to try to have the miscarriage in the shower because I had read in the internet that it can be hell and you just cry and get through the pain. Do not do this. I really think if I stayed home I could have died.</li>
<li>Our first instinct was to go to urgent care. Thank God it was closed and we went to the ER. If you are bleeding profusely, go to an ER!</li>
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When we got to the ER it was more clear that something was wrong. They immediately admitted me and the next hour or so was just lots of bleeding and testing. Once in the room we waited for an ultrasound and my pain was still manageable. During the course of waiting I started getting horrible contractions and my pain became increasingly worse. It’s one thing to experience that pain when you are in the process of bringing your child into the world but entirely different as you try to let it go. It was emotionally and physically excruciating.</div>
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Again, without going into the gory details, the next couple of hours involved a lot of blood loss and finally an invasive and painful ultrasound by a very cold sonographer.</div>
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When the ultrasound finished and I was getting back in the wheelchair I said, I’m going to pass out now, please don’t let me fall on the floor. Apparently I passed out and my body started shaking as the sonographer asked Feraz if this was normal. Argh! Thankfully a nurse was passing by and he rushed over to help. The next thing I remember is being in a crowded room with IVs in my arm, an oxygen mask on my face and someone asking for a history of what happened and someone else asking if I had signed off on receiving a blood transfusion. I was in and out of consciousness and hearing bits of conversation. I remember shaking uncontrollably from being so cold and trying to pull my hand away because they were putting an IV in there. Eventually I came back to and was on fluids and getting a blood transfusion. They were having trouble getting my blood pressure back up and couldn’t move me to SICU until that happened. Eventually I stabilized, they gave me drugs to slow down the bleeding and I was moved to a room.</div>
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Unfortunately my bleeding didn’t slow down and I needed another blood transfusion and eventually I was taken in for a D&C. It wasn’t until I was getting the anesthesia that I cried. I was so tired and they had to intubate me which was more scary to me than the D&C.</div>
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When I came to, I felt so much better. The pain and bleeding were gone. I did feel like I was having a heart attack and they did an EKG but my guess is it was just anxiety from everything that happened.</div>
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Second PSA stop:</div>
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<li>Get the D&C much sooner than later if you know the pregnancy is not viable!</li>
<li>Be a squeaky wheel! If you feel something is wrong, keep articulating it until someone listens or explains to you in detail why you shouldn’t be concerned.</li>
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And just like that it was over. I was discharged shortly after and with bruised arms and bandaids I went home and got to see the girls before they went to sleep.</div>
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Part of me doesn’t want to share this story juxtaposed with the pictures below. It is sad and uncomfortable and I kind of want to forget it happened. But it is the narrative of so many women. Conception, pregnancy and childbirth are harrowing experiences for so many of us.</div>
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Before I entered this world I had no idea of the many complexities of creating a family and the fact that most women have some sort of trauma associated with bringing life into this world. For someone who is struggling to start a family or has dealt with loss, scrolling past pictures of families and round bellies can be painful. We don’t talk about the hard parts for so many reasons. The shame of what has happened, the taboo surrounding any talk of women’s bodies and the discomfort of remembering. But sharing stories and pain is also healing. It humanizes both ourselves and the person we are sharing with. Without the dark periods, most of our narratives are not sincere or complete.</div>
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And so, the next chapter. A few months later, in early November, we found out we were expecting again. Again, I was both nervous and excited. Probably also a bit terrified this go around.</div>
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As this pregnancy winds down I can’t help but reflect of the last 8 years and what my body has endured and what it has accomplished. I am so grateful for our girls and God willing, their baby brother. I pray that I am making the right choices for our family and that this baby comes into this world in good health, peacefully and uneventfully. I pray that we all find peace in the stories we have lived and are living. I ask that you join me in these prayers. Ameen.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-91618210432139138412017-11-23T18:49:00.000-08:002020-05-05T18:51:12.689-07:00Family Photos - 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last year we missed our chance to get pictures with Blue Lily because we had just had Nia a few months before and were preparing for our Dubai trip but this year I remembered to book! Since they were in town on Feraz’s birthday, I thought it would be a fun morning activity. Feraz noted that it was probably more a gift for me but I still think it was a great birthday morning! We got to spend time walking around Georgetown, grabbed some lunch and enjoyed some time by the waterfront. All before nap time! Here are some of my favorite shots. Love my little family, Alhumduhlillah!</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-47248841635910326552016-08-26T18:57:00.000-07:002020-05-05T18:58:03.520-07:00And Then There Were Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">My friend Sanwaree came over and snapped some pictures of our family last Sunday afternoon and we are obsessed! She did such a great job capturing little snippets of our life and especially Nouri’s personality. Having this chronicle of an afternoon is such a gift.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nouri is obsessed with her baby sister. In the mornings, she jumps into our bed to tickle her and pull on her ear. When I pick her up from daycare, she runs to Nia’s side of the car to say hello to her. If Nia is crying, Nouri runs and shows her a toy or book and if she keeps crying, Nouri starts to cry as well.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nia is at that great age when you can lay her on the couch and there is no fear of her rolling over or going anywhere! The second time around, you realize how fast that moment goes and how sweet and helpless they are.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">We love wrapping Nia up in my scarves and clothes. Having something I have worn helps her feel like I am holding her. She is wrapped in my nursing cover here. The rug is the same one my brother has. We saw it at his place and I was obsessed.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Feraz is an expert at wrapping babies. At the hospital, the nurse commented on how well Nia was wrapped and couldn’t believe Feraz had done it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">We should probably get a runner for these stairs. Whenever it is time for bed, Nouri peeks through the bannister and says “Bye-bye! Dhafiz!” As soon as she hears Feraz running her bath upstairs, she starts excitedly climbing up.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nouri loves being “outchide!”. She is always getting her shoes out and begging us to put them on so she can go play outside. She already knows the way to the park herself and will head in that direction as soon as we head out. There is our little blue Fit which we brought both the girls home in. It will be a little sad to see it go for… a minivan!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">To get our outside time in before Papa comes home, I wear Nia and usually let Nouri walk along. We spend a lot of time on our cul de sac going round and round. Having two has felt so much more balanced for me.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Since we try to keep toys to a real minimum in our house, Nouri is constantly using whatever is around to play with. These cushions get a lot of use and Nouri loves climbing up on the sofas and jumping around.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Mealtime is a cornerstone of our day. I love Nouri’s highchair and all the memories that are associated with it. I still remember when she picked up her first foods and smashed them on her face because she wasn’t quite sure where her mouth was. This picture also does a great job of capturing her bowl haircut which I think is a right of passage for all children.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">This is what happens when you try to get your kid to smile and say cheese. I take pictures of Nouri every day and I have to be careful that she doesn’t start to hate them! All of this is so fleeting and I hate the idea of not having these moments to look back on. It’s a fine balance between capturing the memories and being present for them as well.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Whenever people ask us why we have a disco ball in the living room, I answer because some blogger said it adds whimsy to your space. She was so right! I love it and hope we get around to hanging it up so it twirls and we can instantly transform our living room into a disco whenever we feel like it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Life is a party. I think we spend over half our days at home on these sofas. Will be good to see how well they hold up after a year. So far we have had them for eight months. Because you know, the best time to buy nice new sofas is when you have young children.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nouri used to always watch me on the yoga ball when I was pregnant and now uses any round object as a ball herself. Here she is getting up from her disco ball chair.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nouri playing with the new toy Dadi brought her. Nouri loves to ‘color’ and this should be a good way to keep crayons and markers at bay. At least for now.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">My baby and my baby’s baby. And a disco ball. See above.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Nouri loves to swaddle her dolls. Paying close attention as she learns to use the miracle blanket from the master himself.</span></div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-86604628390665090252016-08-16T18:58:00.000-07:002020-05-05T19:10:56.294-07:0013 Years<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Athletes train for years, waking up early, maintaining strict diets and painstaking physical regimes for the possibility of a moment of glory. Physicians, lawyers, artists all spend countless hours on their crafts for that moment where they save a life, break a big case or create a piece of work that will touch people for hundreds of years to come.</div>
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Marriage is something like all of that too. There is work, refining, learning and adjusting. But there are moments that are so profound and so incredible, that is makes all of the difficulties easily worth it. There are the great moments together, moving to a new country, traveling the world, reaching milestones or welcoming a new life. And there are the greater moments, talking about insecurities and fears in the dark at night, having breakfast we made together in the garden, picking out groceries, singing together in the car, talking about our past and our future. There is an easy feeling. Like sitting besides a creek in the middle of nowhere and a light breeze is in the air. And that moment is, for a little while, all that exists. The years have taught me that love can be as calm and still as that feeling and it is a lesson I am grateful for.</div>
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Happy anniversary, saathi. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-20242510876020495102016-05-20T19:11:00.000-07:002020-05-05T19:11:54.991-07:00Has Fiction Ruined Love?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Financial Times recently published a piece on <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20180824231601/https://www.ft.com/content/905bf850-0588-11e6-a70d-4e39ac32c284" style="border: 0px none; color: #c3a453; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">how fiction has ruined love</a> and I wanted to take a moment to write about why I think the article is utter crap.</div>
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The author uses selective bias to highlight films and books that talk about just one stage of love and if you were to look at just those examples and not be a free-thinking person, then I guess literature could ‘ruin’ love for you. I think the quote that people would not have fallen in love had they not heard of such a thing is ridiculous. Love is such a primal thing, from the love a parent has for a child to the first flickering of love we feel as children and adolescents. And although our culture and environment helps to shape our conception of love, I would need to a read a stronger argument that it is art that primarily shapes how we love before subscribing to it.</div>
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One stage of love is certainly domesticity but to say that stage must lack passion, excitement, deep bonding and much more is ridiculous. If that were the case, wouldn’t everyone just be running around having affairs or just be terribly miserable? Certainly, both of those scenarios exist, but to think that must be the norm is terribly pessimistic.</div>
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The author uses Emma Bovary as an example of someone who has high expectations of love, and then feels burdened and disappointed by the mundaness of domestic life. But the things he describes are all really great things. To be able to cook with your spouse and eat delicious meals together. To talk about your day and reflect on the life you are building together, to experience the miracle of bringing children into the world and then see them grow up. These things can all evoke passion, excitement and deep bonding.</div>
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I don’t buy that romance does not exist inherently in modern domestic life. It is dangerous to buy into this line of thinking because then we settle for unhappiness in our lives. Maybe I am delusional but I am incredibly happy in my domestic life. I’m not saying this from a point of defensiveness or of bragging but because I’m sick of hearing the counter culture lie that as we get married or have families that life becomes this oppressive burden without hope or adventure.</div>
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To the extent that capitalism is at odds with romanticism, that is a result of our personal choices. There are many studies that show that people who make $75,000 an year reach a peak of happiness that comes from money and beyond that more money does not equate to more happiness. I think most of us can easily find jobs that we make that much money for a reasonable work/life balance. Getting 5-7 hours with your family every evening is plenty of time to enjoy leisurely meals, go on walks, have meaningful conversations and form a deep bond. Or even to sit by waterfalls, if that is your thing.</div>
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This presumption that to participate in a capitalist society means being destined to a fate of worrying about petty work issues and work dramas is offensive to our autonomy. We get to decide what careers we pursue, what jobs we take, the types of people we work with and so forth. To say we are destined to misery through our jobs is ridiculous. Sure, if you want to be the CEO of X company or big shot lawyer/doctor/businessmen, etc., you probably will have to make a lot of sacrifices and deal with a lot of crap. But the hope would be that if you value that thing so much, then you value it more than the things you are sacrificing for it. If you don’t value it more than meaningful social relationships, family life or free time, then you should probably pursue another life course. To the extent that you don’t pursue another life course, it is not because of what you read in a book, or what your community expects of you but because of a shortcoming in yourself that you have to own up to. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say that you are destined to this life of misery when you are making all the choices that lead you down that road. I feel the great defect of people in my generation is that they are not willing to own up to the choices they make and the consequences they lead to. If you are too cowardly or too lazy to live the life and create the life you want, then you have to take accountability for your own unhappiness or dissatisfaction.</div>
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The author notes that when the relationship really begins, the film or novel ends. That is because he is just giving examples of films and novels that depict one stage of love or relationships. That beginning, lust filled stage, which I think is a wonderful stage and I hope everyone gets to experience it. But to want that indefinitely seems so immature and one dimensional. Don’t you want to evolve in a relationship so it is not all discovering but also <em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">knowing? </em>Knowing a person’s history, likes and dislikes? Knowing that you have carved a path together?</div>
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The author talks about children being missing from stories and then goes on to describe having children as something that puts couples under “unbearable strain”. Although that is a whole different post, I take great offense to this narrative that having children is a great burden that makes people miserable. Certainly, I know many miserable parents, but many of them have no one to blame but themselves for this misery. Whether it was not stopping to have an honest discussion with themselves or their partners about whether they really wanted to take on the great responsibility of being parents or once having children, if they are raising them with awareness and intention.</div>
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The example in Before Sunrise is something many of us who have traveled have experienced. You meet someone briefly and the connection can be intense and meaningful and sometimes even goes back to your regular life. It is a wonderful thing and I have many lifelong friends from such interactions. At the same time, you couldn’t and wouldn’t want to live your life at that heightened level of connection all the time. Like with nature, with human interactions, we need an ebb an flow.</div>
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Ultimately, love and life are two precious things and to the extent that we want to point the finger of blame on them being ruined, we can only point it ourselves. We are the architects of our happiness… or unhappiness. To say otherwise is disingenuous and self-destructive.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-88878670818521302062016-01-28T19:49:00.000-08:002020-05-05T19:50:48.467-07:00Colmbia - Pictures and More Pictures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Most of our time in Colombia was spent with our tour group. It was our first time doing a vacation like this and overall, I think I would do it again. A tour group will indefinitely have a variety of personalities who all bring their own level of entertainment to the experience.</div>
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I’ve been meaning to write a great post about all our adventures and my feelings throughout the trip but if I keep waiting to do that, this post will never go up so instead, here is a photo dump with commentary thrown in.</div>
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As you may be able to guess, the next two pictures are from the Gold Museum. Although I found this museum generally boring, there were some really beautiful displays.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">There was a Turkish guy in our group who was just going for it with the different street food. It was inspiring to see him wanting to try everything. His thought was, “When else are you going to get the chance to try this particular thing? Go for it!” We were wise to follow his lead.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Make your own candy waffles (no idea on the real name) on the side of the road.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">The Botero Museum- I liked this a lot more than the Gold Museum. Beautiful architecture and some very fun pieces.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">No trip is complete without some good reading. I found the Martian a bit technical but still good. Career Evil was so gruesome! Definitely my least favorite in this detective series.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Bogota by night. We were a few blocks from a really swanky area. It was fun walking around but these shops were wayy out of our price range. We found a great little Food Truck lot and then… we went and watched Star Wars! We were exhausted after a long day and nothing sounded better than sitting back and watching a movie. Since I’m not a big Star Wars fanatic, I just watched the movie for basic entertainment value and it delivered on that front.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">The next day we had a very early morning as we made our way to Cartagena. We stayed at the Hotel Caribe where some Obama staffers also notoriously stayed. Despite its sordid history, the hotel was beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">We had lunch in this charming Middle Eastern restaurant (with very subpar food).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">When I saw all the trinkets while we were there, I thought they were a bit gaudy and didn’t end up getting any. Now that I’m looking at the pictures, I really wish I had!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">And how did I pass up these kicks?!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">There were beautiful lights all over the city.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">We kept seeing lots of local people eating this dish and finally found a courtyard where there were endless tables selling it. We pulled a chair up to a plastic table and ate as some people danced in the middle of the courtyard.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">A breakfast guest.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Followed by fresh coconut water.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">And some fresh coconut meat.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Our guide asked us if we wanted to have lunch on the beach. Fresh lobsters and crabs from the sea? Um, yes! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">The feast was worth the wait.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Even the food courts had stunning views.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Got to spend some quality time on the beach. We lounged, avoided getting massages and read until it started to get chilly in the evening. Then we took a walk and welcomed the sunset.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">We finished our stay with a cab back to the old city to have dinner in a courtyard across a beautiful church. We watched a couple get married, musicians playing instruments and children running around. The sunset and the romantic dinner were such a perfect cap to our quick but wonderful stay in Colombia.</span><br />
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-51321117251462944482016-01-04T19:50:00.000-08:002020-05-05T19:56:15.269-07:00Colombia! – The Colors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How was your New Year’s Eve? I went over to a neighbor’s house for a fun party and it was awesome to have a two minute commute walking home when it was all said and done. If this weekend was any indication of things to come, it is going to be an awesome year! On Friday, we went to a birthday party for our dear friends’ daughters and later we met up with my cousins who were in town from New Jersey and Michigan. It was such great day of spending time with great people and watching Nouri have fun discovering new houses and people. Saturday we had a family day filled with pancake breakfast, shopping and hanging out at and on Sunday we had some more friends over. It was a perfect weekend full of people we care about. Hoping there is much more of that in 2016!</div>
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Now, back to Colombia! I wanted to share some pictures and will do that over a few posts.</div>
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Our trip was just five days and was in and out. It’s hard to know what we would do in the future, but five days is too short for a good holiday! But the idea of being away from Nouri longer than that is also hard to swallow. Maybe the best compromise is to take a nanny (er, <em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Khala)</em> with you on vacation? Then you can do the things that aren’t as kid friendly but still get to cuddle them at night?</div>
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When I was looking at our pictures, a few broad categories jumped out to me- one of them being COLOR. There were so many beautiful pictures of the vibrant buildings that were all over Bogota and Cartagena, the two cities that we visited.</div>
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A walk through Bogota quickly reveals the rich graffiti culture in the city. Artists have actually relocated to Bogota from all over the world to share their craft on the building walls. Police do not fine or remove the artist’s work and the artists have a code among each other not to paint over someone else’s work. The result is stunning political, comedic and historic pieces throughout the city.</div>
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Cartagena’s caribbean vibe is very different from Bogota but it too pops with color and architectural treasures. The Colonial era old town is full of narrow streets and beautiful structures with integrate balconies and doors in beautifully preserved or restored buildings.</div>
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Here are some pictures of the buildings in the two cities. Can you tell which city you are looking at?</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-21194717468617642992015-12-31T19:57:00.000-08:002020-05-05T19:57:39.515-07:00Reflections from 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I can’t believe we are about to enter the <em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sixteenth</em> year of 2000. Doesn’t it feel like just yesterday that we were partying like it was 1999?</div>
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2015, seemingly like every year, was full of so many changes, ups and downs and adventures.</div>
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In 2015, I lost two people I loved dearly. My aunt passed away from ALS and my Nani passed away from ongoing complications from a stroke she suffered several years back. It is a morbid thought but with every year that passes, I know that the following year when I go through this same exercise, there will be new names to add to the list. Some will be young and some will be old, some expected and others all that much more painful because they should not have been on such a list at such an age. Always a reminder to love those who you love fiercely and without reservation.</div>
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This past year was our first full year as parents. We observed so many firsts with Nouri and she keeps racking them up. The first year of a baby’s life is such a wonder to observe. We saw Nouri go on her first plane ride, eat her first foods, get her first passport, take her first steps and so much more. It has been so fun to settle into the rhythms of our slightly more domestic life.</div>
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We took some big trips to Iceland, the UK and Colombia and lots of little trips to Michigan, New York and all around the DMV area. We learned about the challenges of traveling with a baby and the challenges of traveling without one.</div>
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We also bought our first house! After so many years of being married and by what all means felt like after waiting too long, we took the plunge into owning a tiny part of the American dream. This is the fifth place we have lived in since moving to DC and I’m looking forward to staying put for a little bit.</div>
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And now we look forward to 2016. Tonight we will celebrate with neighbors and bring in another year together. The next months are going to be filled with lots of changes that I am excited to share with all of you soon. My hope for 2016 is to strive to be a better person, to nurture my family, to transform our house into a comfy home, to surround myself with people who inspire me and make me laugh, to consume less and to give more, to elect Bernie as our next president, to work for justice, to grow my hair long, to take more bike rides, to be a good role model for Nouri and to become more of the person I have hoped to be.</div>
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Hoping that you and your families all have a great evening and a Happy New Year!</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-28046467704884568852015-12-30T20:02:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:02:51.320-07:00Traveling Without a Baby<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last week we returned from our trip to Colombia. I had booked this trip much earlier in the year thinking that by the time Nouri was one, we would be ready for a break and a little adults-only time. As the trip neared, we started to get worried that we wouldn’t enjoy it without having Nouri around. Although we ended up missing her a lot, I am so glad that we took some time to ourselves. It was reassuring that throughout the trip I was constantly thinking, “Definitely couldn’t do this with a baby!” From uneven sidewalks, to long travel days, to excursions down rivers and up forts, there were so many things that would have been downright impossible with a baby in tow.</div>
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As the trip was approaching, we became nervous that Nouri would take her first steps while we were away. She was showing all the signs of being ready to walk but wasn’t making that final push. Luckily, about five days before we were set to leave, she took a few steps. Two days later, she was full fledged walking all over the place. Her Aunties told us that she had spent all day in daycare just walking from one place to another. Once she figured out she could do it, she was a baby on a mission! I’m so glad that we are able to be there for that awesome milestone!</div>
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We had also worried a lot about how Nouri would cope without us. Would she cry at night when she realized that she wasn’t going to see us that day? Or maybe the next morning when she woke up and realized that we weren’t there to cuddle her? Or just all day long?</div>
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Nope!</div>
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We got picture after picture of her laughing it up with her <em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Khala</em> (maternal sister). They had a ton of fun together going on outings, trying new foods and getting lots of cuddles in. I’m so happy that my sister was willing to take time off work so we could have out little adventure. (And I don’t think she minded toooo much since she got all that time soaking up Nouri.)</div>
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There is a certain narcism in being parents. I have seen parents who actually want their kids to cry when they leave, as if they will prove that the kid loves them. Not healthy! Of course I want my baby to be attached to me and think I’m awesome. But I also want her to feel safe and comfortable in different situations because we have helped show her that the world is a safe and loving place. That is a lot of weight for a 13 month old but I do think babies respond to the environment we create for them. So even though it was weird to us that she didn’t notice we were gone at all, I felt strangely proud of that little independent firecracker.</div>
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We got home really late on the night we got back so we had to wait until the next morning to see Nouri. When she woke up, I expected a big smile, maybe even a laugh. Or maybe tears of anger for leaving her?</div>
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Nope!</div>
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Nouri just put up her arms like she always does, I picked her up and she snuggled into my shoulder. It was like we had never left. A friend of mine told me that babies don’t really have a grasp on time, so you could have been gone an hour or ten days but they won’t really know the difference. After this experience, I believe that.</div>
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It was harder than I expected to finally leave Nouri but I’m so glad we did. We learned that it is ok to be away from your kid. The world doesn’t stop, they don’t fall apart and it is such a healthy thing to do. We also learned that We. Love. Nouri. So. Much. So even though it was awesome to have the new experiences that we did, we realized that we really, really love our life as being parents to her. When I booked this trip almost a year ago, I had thought that I would be in desperate need of a break. That parenting would steam roll us and we would have to go on some sort of trip to rediscover ourselves. Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case and the trip reaffirmed for us how grateful we are to have Nouri and how much we value our everyday domestic life.</div>
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I hope this helps someone who may be thinking of taking a solo or kid-free trip. Over the next week I will share pictures and stories from the trip. See you then!</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-75360336465146789742015-12-14T20:04:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:04:59.434-07:00My weekend sucked. Or did it?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last night, as I was reflecting on the weekend, I thought to myself- meh, this wasn’t a very good weekend. I had a feeling that the weekend was boring and we didn’t get to do much. Upon reflection, I realized that there were two ways to look at the different things we did this weekend and I was just focusing on the negative.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Negative Nancy: Was exhausted after coming home and still had a social engagement to go to. Ugh.</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Upon Reflection: Had a great evening with neighborhood friends.</em></div>
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On Friday, one of our neighbors hosted a ‘girl’s night’ where a bunch of the neighborhood women met up to eat, drink and have a general estro-fest. I was exhausted when I got home from work but told myself that I could go for an hour or so and then I could come back home. I walked over six houses and had such a good time that before I knew it, five hours had passed. It was so nice to connect with women in the neighborhood. We probably ranged in age from our 20s to 60s but we all connected and laughed and shared our stories. It was so wonderful and I was so grateful that we sacrificed living in some vision of a ‘dream house’ to live among people who are friends, who welcome each other into their homes and genuinely care about each other. I am so grateful that Nouri will grow up in such a unique neighborhood.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Saturday Afternoon</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Negative Nancy: I stayed home like a bum while Feraz and Nouri went out for adventures (pictured above).</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Upon Reflection: I got to engage in self-care because I have a loving husband who gives me a break whenever I need it.</em></div>
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On Saturday, Feraz lived up the subUrban dream and walked to the park with Nouri and walked to get groceries, giving me some time to rest and recharge. I’ve been feeling under the weather and it was so nice to sit at home, color my hair, do my eyebrows and paint my nails. I even was able to eat some brownies I had made the night before while watching a romcom on Netflix. So grateful for a husband that loves being a dad so much and always gives me time to re-energize when I need to. Later that night, we got all dressed up, got a sitter and went to my work holiday party.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Saturday Night</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Negative Nancy: Holiday party was lame and I’m too old to ‘party’.</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Upon Reflection: We got to check out a cool museum we had never been to and got a sweet present to go home with.</em></div>
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The party was at <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20180824234840/http://nmwa.org/" style="border: 0px none; color: #c3a453; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the National Museum of Women in the Arts</a> to which we had never been. We took in some great paintings and sculptures, mingled a bit, took some silly photos and got to see some people I really like. There was valet for the event so we didn’t even have to worry about parking in the city. As our holiday gift, we got this cool gadget called an <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20180824234840/http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X4WHP5E/ref=ods_gw_d_h1_ha_dr_oft?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-hero-kindle-A&pf_rd_r=0VT04VB2VRJJ658EYKJY&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2326582982&pf_rd_i=desktop" style="border: 0px none; color: #c3a453; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Echo</a>, which is incidentally one of Oprah’s Favorite Things, so obviously it is awesome. We also tried out one of our neighbors for baby-sitting and both her and Nouri did great!</div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sunday</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Negative Nancy: Did we do anything today? I just remember feeling sick.</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Upon Reflection: We took advantage of the great weather by heading to Roosevelt Island and then spent more time together as a family getting some shopping done at an outdoor mall.</em></div>
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I am loathe to say no to doing things but lately I’ve been feeling like putzing around the house. On Sunday, I really wanted to get out and enjoy the awesome weather so when Feraz suggested going to Roosevelt Island, one of our favorite spots when we lived in Georgetown, I had to say yes. The weather was perfect and so many people coo’d over Nouri and she looked adorable as she practiced walking with her papa. It was such a happy sight to see. Afterwards, we did some shopping and I didn’t feel any need to buy anything for myself. It feels so good to no longer need stuff to feel fulfilled. On the way home, we played a fun game with the Amazon Prime Music (check it out if you aren’t already using it!) 80’s station. We raced each other to see who could guess the song first and I WON 7-6. This is amazing because I am the absolute worst at games like this. Granted, I was up 6-0 and Feraz made an amazing come back. But as we were pulling into our cul-de-sac, Faithfully came on and I got it in the first two seconds to pull the W.</div>
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I’m so glad I took the time to write up this rather long and rather mundane recap of the weekend. I’ve been feeling a bit letdown the last two weekends in a row and it occurs to me now that the weekends have actually been great, it’s just I haven’t been taking the time to reflect on the infinite blessings we have in each day of our lives. I hope this helps you take a look at your day, weekend, life and find the beauty in it as well.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-86715155143956992472015-12-10T20:05:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:06:41.164-07:00San Bernadino<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nothing can lessen the blow of living in a country in which someone you love can go to a movie theatre, a school or a holiday party and never return because a person who had no business having access to guns did. As a Muslim, I don’t stand with the families of San Bernardino because I feel guilt that my religion prompted two crazies to do an unforgivable act. I stand with the families of San Bernardino because my religion teaches me to repel evil with something better. I stand with the families of San Bernardino because no family should ever, ever have to receive the news that they lost a loved one in such a horrific way and my heart breaks for them.</div>
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Many Muslims feel scared, harassed and ostracized but those feelings are nothing compared to what the families of the San Bernardino victims are feeling. They have had to face any person’s worst nightmare and they, more than anyone, need to know that the world still has goodness in it and that it is a world still worthy of meeting with love and compassion. This effort is one small demonstration of hope and I hope that all of us, no matter who we are, follow it up with continued acts of compassion, love and light.</div>
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Some folks have started a wonderful initiative on LaunchGood which has raised over $188,000 for the victim’s families. Please <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20180824234840/https://www.launchgood.com/project/muslims_united_for_san_bernardino" style="border: 0px none; color: #c3a453; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">click on over there</a> if you would like to support the great cause.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-41858746966613512092015-12-08T20:07:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:09:12.624-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We’ve had some good luck with movies recently. We watched two movies that really had us talking and reflecting afterwards- </span><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20190619130903/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1198156/" style="color: #c3a453; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">You’re Not You</a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> and </span><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20190619130903/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2870648/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #c3a453; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Amy</a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span><br />
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You’re Not You stars Hillary Swank as a young woman who seems to have it all and is diagnosed with ALS. The movie follows the heartbreaking story of that diagnosis but also the opportunity it gives her to face her life and certain choices. It also follows the development of her relationship with her somewhat misguided caregiver. It was really difficult to watch at parts, especially since I lost an aunt to ALS earlier this year. The cruelty and unfairness of the disease really come through in this movie and we both felt so angry and helpless after watching it. That might not seem like a strong testament for the movie, but please check it out. Though painful, the movie is a reminder of the uncertainty of life and how even the worst situations can present opportunities for growth and joy.</div>
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In a similar vein, Amy was also a heartbreaking story of the life and rise to stardom of Amy Winehouse. But it was heartbreaking in a very different way. It is compiled mainly of video footage and photos of different parts of her life with voiceovers by different people who knew her and were close to her. It begins by showing a witty and smart girl who is still very much a child when she is discovered.</div>
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The uncut footage of her voice is breathtaking. Her talent is just undeniable and so overwhelming. Towards the end, she is singing with her idol, Tony Bennet and she is completely starstruck and nervous. When I hear the two of them sing, there is no comparison in my mind. She blows Tony Bennett out of the water.</div>
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The movie illustrated that there were so many people in her life, people really close to her, like her husband, people who should have protected her, like her father, people who could only see the money she brought in and were willing to exploit her until it led to her death. There is no doubt that an individual ultimately makes the final decisions about their life but it is not hard to imagine how different the outcome of Amy’s life would have been if she had been able to break free from the demons, not only in her, but who were around her.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-44344136446600136702015-12-04T20:10:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:11:03.634-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Renwick Gallery recently reopened in DC and we had a blast spending some time there. I love galleries but a lot of times they can feel overwhelming or exhausting. Since there is so much to see, you don’t really get to appreciate each piece as much as you would like to.</div>
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The opening exhibition, Wonder, was amazing. Each of the nine installments were awe inspiring and done on location by the artists. Jennifer Angus has a show stopping installment made from brightly colored insects. There was a long line to see her gallery but it was worth the wait.</div>
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If you find yourself in the city, definitely stop by.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-68184380677728504622015-12-02T20:11:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:12:23.737-07:00Seeking Adventure (without a baby)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today I wanted to post about sofas. I wanted to compile all the pictures of the sofas we have been using since moving to DC to show how I had styled them differently and why it was time for new ones. And perhaps, one day, we will get to that exciting post.</div>
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But as I was sifting through my pictures, I kept running into memories of places we have lived and visited. I was particularly getting stuck on all our overseas adventures. I will always be grateful for all the traveling we got to do as a pair before we had a little baby to look after. Earlier this year we went to England and Iceland and although there were definitely some fun parts, it is not the same traveling with a baby.</div>
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We have our first trip without Nouri coming up in a few weeks and I’m both looking forward to it and dreading it. Its going to be great to travel without a bunch of baby things. It will be so refreshing to be able to go into any restaurant we want without worrying if it is kid friendly. We won’t be responsible for nap times and feedings and entertaining a little human.</div>
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But we will miss her so, so much. To provide some context, we miss her when she goes to bed every night! Don’t get me wrong, we love our own time each evening but at some point, each night, we look at the monitor and kiss it again and again and reflect on how lucky we are to have our little angel. So, to some degree, my heart will be suspended until we see Nouri again. But I hope it doesn’t stop me from enjoying the adventure we have in store.</div>
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Before we had Nouri, I remember so many conversations with Feraz about how I wanted to maintain different facets of our life after we became parents. To crave and want adventures does not make us any less loving and devoted parents just as wanting some evenings out doesn’t make us any less caring and devoted to each other. It is all part of striking a healthy balance between the different parts of our life.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-69515779695455753972015-12-01T20:12:00.000-08:002020-05-05T20:13:25.921-07:00Dreaming of Small Living<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This weekend we took a quick trip to State College, PA. We tend to wait until the last minute to book places whenever we travel so Airbnb is perfect for us. The apartment we booked was perfect. It had one bedroom, a family room and a bathroom. Being in such a small, cozy place reminded me how much I love the family being close together. Although its not something I would like to do regularly, it was so nice to have Nouri sleeping in her travel crib just a few feet from us.</div>
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Our house is not huge as houses go but for the three of us, there is so much unnecessary space. At any given moment, we can all be on a different floor. This weekend I was reminded how much I love smaller spaces and how much I want our forever home to be a more efficient use of space. As an added benefit, I will be able to eavesdrop on all my kids’ conversations!</div>
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I have been looking at some dreamy small spaces to tide me over until our next move. I love how high ceilings and tons of windows can open up small floor plans.</div>
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sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-1589138149865332122015-02-22T07:16:00.000-08:002015-03-18T07:17:12.102-07:00Valentine's Day - 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was just wondering what we have done in the past for Valentine's Day and when I did a search on this blog here, I was happy to realize that a couple of years back, I did a little recap. So, even though I don't have all of our Valentine's days recapped, it was nice to find that quite a few have made their way on here!<br />
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This year, our plan was to drive to our friend's place in Blacksburg and spend some q-time with their family, playing games, cooking, baking, eating and meeting some of their friends. We were really looking forward to it!<br />
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About four hours into our drive (which should have been four hours total), we hit really bad weather. We experienced a complete white out and my mind flashed back to the day before Valentine's Day 2007. I was driving home from law school when I was in a terrible car accident. With Nouri in the car with us, there was no way we could risk continuing to drive. So we inched along the freeway until we came to an exit and Feraz carefully made his way off. We pulled over and searched for a place to stay. We found we were in Lexington Virginia and a sweet bed and breakfast, <a href="http://abigailinn.com/wilson/" target="_blank">Abigail Inn</a>, was just a few miles down the road.<br />
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When we pulled up, we knew we had made the right decision. The house looked beautiful covered in snow and inside and we were warmly welcomed and showed to our room. Our hosts recommended dinner at <a href="http://www.southerninn.com/" target="_blank">Southern Inn</a>. It was sweet to see all the other couples out celebrating their love. I know Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday, like most holidays we celebrate in the States, but I for one don't need too much of an excuse to celebrate, and love is something that I am always onboard to get down for.<br />
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So, with our sweet little angel in her car seat, we enjoyed a romantic dinner for 3. After we had finished up, our waitress brought us two chocolate covered strawberries, a perfect ending to our night. We drove through the quiet town back to the Inn where we tucked in for the night. Safely out of the snow and cold, we went to sleep with our sweet little family.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vWVjr8Xs494/VOEt7TEhJEI/AAAAAAAAXC0/6vQD6Uxcank/s774-no/IMG_20150215_111955371-MIX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vWVjr8Xs494/VOEt7TEhJEI/AAAAAAAAXC0/6vQD6Uxcank/s774-no/IMG_20150215_111955371-MIX.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast with the innkeepers, their daughter and her family and one other couple who was staying for the weekend. We talked about being parents, culture and our lives. The best part of exploring the world is having the chance to meet so many wonderful people.<br />
<br /></div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-48518559603167243102014-12-01T20:02:00.002-08:002014-12-01T20:02:31.119-08:00Nouri's Birth Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svo-EzBydqs/VH05Cud91NI/AAAAAAAAUUM/fusfAwaAb30/s1600/IMG_20141108_160324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svo-EzBydqs/VH05Cud91NI/AAAAAAAAUUM/fusfAwaAb30/s1600/IMG_20141108_160324.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I have been a mother for almost one month now. In reality, I feel like I have been Nouri's mother from the day we found out I was pregnant. I have loved her, been proud of her and felt protective of her since then but I have done so with bated breath, too afraid to believe that our modest little dream could come true. On November 5th, with the help of God and the amazing teamwork of the midwives and doctors, I brought Nouri into the world. She came fast and furious. Something like labor started around 10:30 pm and by 3:24 am, she made her entry in delivery room 7 at GW Hospital.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrB-fJBICno/VH05K3QHVFI/AAAAAAAAUUU/MhaE5ouWYss/s1600/IMG_20141109_163314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrB-fJBICno/VH05K3QHVFI/AAAAAAAAUUU/MhaE5ouWYss/s1600/IMG_20141109_163314.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I didn't leave work until 7 pm that day. Although there were no clear signs of labor, I had it in my mind that I needed to get everything sorted for when I would go on leave. I organized my files, cleaned up my desk and tried to tie up any open projects I had. I started the mile walk home, listening to Serial and even went the long way home so I could stop at CVS and get my TDAP shot. When I got to the minute clinic, I asked the lady, is it ok to get this vaccine while you are in labor? She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you in labor?" I responded, "I don't know. I have never been in labor before. I might be."<br />
<br />
My basis for thinking I was in labor was that the pregnancy had largely been comfortable and now I was feeling pressure and the weight of the baby. I will spare you the other details of why I thought I was in labor.<br />
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<br />
<br />
I had planned to have an unmedicated birth but when I entered GW around 2 am, I was begging for a c-section, for an epidural or whatever they would give to me. I may have very calmly asked for them to kill me. To the midwives credit, they very calmly responded, "That is not an option, but lets think of what else we can do." They said things like "You are in labor now, there is no stopping it. You can do this." To which I responded, (maybe yelled) "I can't! I can't! I can't!" By the time I asked for an epidural, everyone resoundingly agreed.<br />
<br />
I may have been acting like a crazy person.<br />
<br />
But as they got me set up to get an epidural, we found out that it was already time to push! Soon into pushing, Nouri's heart rate had dropped and it was staying dropped for too long. The midwives called in the doctors and before we knew it, (I actually didn't know it at the time because my eyes were sealed shut as I focused on pushing) there were 13 people in the room. When the doctor said it was time for a c-section, one angel in the room advocated for me to have some more time to push. At this point, I had returned to being a sane person and I knew I wanted to do everything I could to get my baby out as soon as possible. I used all the energy I had, tried to listen to every instruction that was being given to me and willed for Nouri to be born. And in a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life, Nouri left my body and entered the world. When I was told that she was ok, I felt wave upon wave of gratitude come over me. When she was put on my chest, I felt a love that tried to escape from every pore and envelope my sweet baby. I keep reliving the exact moment she was born and the longer I know her the more precious that moment becomes. That moment becomes encompassed by layers and layers of love and memories.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Afterwards we had found out that my placenta had ruptured and that is what had caused the terrible pain and the extremely fast progression in my labor. I was reminded of that fine line between everything turning out just fine and everything completely falling apart. If we had waited too long to go to the hospital, if the medical team had been less competent, if Nouri hadn't been such a tough baby... it is hard to imagine how shattered our world could have become if things hadn't worked out that night and each time I think of that, I am even more grateful for the privilege of being Nouri's mother.<br />
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<br /></div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142713392616191488.post-35114587844000960542014-10-10T07:44:00.000-07:002015-03-18T07:44:55.001-07:00A Few Quick Desi Recipes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
I love any meal that I can whip up in a few minutes without having to think
too much about it. These are things we make every week in our house and after you make them a few times, you can do them in your sleep. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rice:</span></div>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cut one medium onion in long thin pieces and saute
until well browned but not burned.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add one large spoon garma masala, one spoon salt and a
spoon of cumin seeds if you have them.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add one cup of frozen mixed vegetables and two cups
drained basmati rice (soak the rice for 15-20 mins and rinse until water
runs clear). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add three cups of water that has already been brought
to a boil (I use my electric kettle to speed up this process).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you see the little airholes forming in the rice,
reduce the heat to low and cover your pot for 18 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remove the pot from the heat source and let it sit for
15 more minutes before uncovering the lid. After 15 minutes, give the rice
a good fluffing and you are all set!<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Spinach:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lightly fry one diced onion until
golden brown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add 1 tablespoon garlic, ½
tablespoon ginger and saute a little bit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add salt, cumin powder, coriander
powder, red chili powder and turmeric to taste (I do 1 spoon salt, ¾ spoon
cumin, ¾ spoon coriander, 1 full heaped spoon red chili powder, ½ spoon turmeric)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mix well for about thirty seconds to
one minute. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add two diced tomatoes and let
simmer for a couple of minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> one bag of frozen spinach
and mix well for a minute or two. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cook without cover until most of the water has evaporated (about
15-20 mins)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cover and let simmer on a low heat (4 on our stove) for 15-20
minutes. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kidney
Beans and Green Peppers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lightly fry one diced onion until
golden brown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add salt, cumin powder, coriander
powder, red chili powder and turmeric to taste (I do 1 spoon salt, ¾ spoon
cumin, ¾ spoon coriander, 1 full heaped spoon red chili powder, ½ spoon turmeric)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add one bag of frozen medley peppers
and two cans of kidney beans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mix well and cook for 10-15 mins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daal:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bring two cups of daal to boil in
six cups of water. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add salt, cumin powder, coriander
powder, red chili powder and turmeric to taste (I do 1 spoon salt, ¾ spoon
cumin, ¾ spoon coriander, 1 full heaped spoon red chili powder, ½ spoon turmeric)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once the daal is at a consistency
you like, in a separate pan melt two large tablespoons of ghee (or butter) with
some crushed garlic. Once it is sizzling, pour it over the daal and mix. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
</div>
sumeerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00750306825372394820noreply@blogger.com1