True Inspiration (Hamed Alrefaei)

- young Picasso Hamed @ his workshop -

i will start this post with Masha Allah ..
on jan 22nd, at mini boutique in adaileya .. i was busy shopping for bokhor, bags, necklaces and everything pretty in between, the last thing i expected to get from there was "inspiration".
as i entered the last room in the boutique, it was kind of unique; in the front was a huge display table of jewelery, on the right side was a display table of all kinds of pashmenas and scarves. Finally, hanged all around the room were big and small very colorful creative paintings. they were the first thing that got my attention, so i asked whos work is this? a woman said "theyre her Italian friends" later on i was greeted by a fine, petite very beautiful young lady, showing me the pashmenas i was checking out, she then very casually started pointing out the paintings; "these are the work of my son Hamed"! i pause and look at her with a huge question mark on my face?! and asked her but how old is your son?! and is he Italian?!! she smiled and said (hes 7 years old) and i truly honestly believed that they were the work of an Italian artist! Mashallah. -just to clarify the misunderstanding; the jewelery line was designed by their Italian friend not the paintings-

- this is my personal favorite called "the beautiful" -

Back to young Picasso Hamed, this boy is a real talent.. his work and creativity are mind blowing, his passion is so inspiring and heart warming. we went through his entire work, she showed me his portfolio in an album decorated with colored ice cream sticks! i loved each an every detail that i saw .. what i loved the most was his parents (specially his mother since shes the one i met) how dedicated and encouraging she was. she told me he started to paint from the age of 3 (esmila 3laih).. she began that early on to encourage his talent and take it seriously. which got me thinking, the first thing that she must have done differently was - notice - his talent and paid attention to him, instead of asking him not to make a mess and put all the colors away from a 3 year old kid! she - encouraged - him and - provided - him with what ever he needed, the material and space but most of all she gave him confidence and respect. she let him paint what ever he wanted with out interfering with his ideas colors or concepts. Im sure they talked about each painting after he finished, im sure she hanged them on the wall to appreciate his hard work. hes self taught but i believe his mother and father were his school :) emsila 3laihom. thats all what our children need, their parents believing in them, taking them seriously and giving them what they need; which is both love, attention and a nurturing environment

- the Queen of Birds -

we talked alot and i really enjoyed every moment of our conversation, I just wished for Hamed to be there so i could just tell him how proud im of him and wish for my kids to be just like him one day :) best of luck to you little Hamed... you are truly a great inspiration to us all. o Allah ewafgik o ya7fithik inshallah.. where for your lovely parents, they are great roll-models, and i have learned already a lot from them, inshallah will do my best to encourage my kids in the future to show their best in their interest :)

again thank you for your time, wish u guys all the best!

this is hameds facebook page and his twitter ! dont miss it!

No3ik (heart) Cinescape

i know its been a while, most of you maybe forgot about it.. but i sure haven't .. i was still hoping and waiting.. well, al7imdellah it finally happened :)
after my first post in 2010, and their first reply to it..this is their last update!

Cinescape got back to me with this message:

"Cinescape

Cinescape Presents Tuesday Kids Day

POLICY: Free entry for children younger than 3 years only on Tuesday! Note: Children may not occupy a seat – one child per guardian

Sorry for taking a while, but we have studied the request and now you may attend the Cinema with your kids FREE OF CHARGE and you will not be embarrassed anymore from the kids screaming and excitement in the Cinema!

11/1/12 12:05 PM"

here is their official announcement of it

Biggest thank you from me to all your hard working staff! and im sure from all the mommies and daddies in kuwait! this is much appreciated! thanks again for taking in consideration what your customers want!

hope everyone is well.. and enjoy the movies.. with ur kids of course ;*

My BP

i think its finally time that i face up and post about u.
(my heart)
has been for the past year pumping way too much blood into my stream.. its been working it self out more than it should .. and thats what they call "hypertension" bl 3rabi (thagh6 3ali)
it started a month after we moved back to kuwait feb 2011.. been nothing but cups and needles, scans and xrays .. ive seen sooo many doctors that i cant remember them all.. they all tell me that its un usual.. for my profile (a fit healthy young person with no family history) to have this problem. they would dread starting me on bp (blood pressure) pills, since u have to commit to them for a life time, and they have many side affects. so i wait .. and wait .. and waited for a year now.

it gets better at times, but at others for no reason at all would sky rocket.. the normal bp readings are 120/80 .. mine reached 171/120 .. which is considered very high and dangerous. they recently installed a bp reader.. that would monitor my bp for 24 hrs.. it takes it every 30 mins.. and from that reading my doctor said will be able to give his final verdict.. which came out yesterday.

at first i was told that there are two types of hypertension: a. secondary b.essential.
90% of people with hypertension are essential (usually are people over 50 with bad food diets/ over weight) the other 10% the secondary (usually are the young ones, who dont fit in the hypertension description but are in it for a secondary reason. they do a full investigation to find out whats the main reason triggering it, thats what ive been doing for the past year.. the investigation came back normal.. everything was healthy and normal al7imdellah.. which meant more question marks?! thats what brought my doctor to the 24hr monitor to determine what should be done for now at least, to help us make a decision.

im supposed to be in the 10% category but so far im not .. the 90% category which i dont fit it.. are the ones who get high blood pressure when stressed and usually goes down when they sleep or relax.. from the 24hr monitoring my readings were that my high blood pressure was at its highest (peak) when i was asleep! lol whcih raised the doctors eye brows.. and said this is strange.. you have "reversal hypertension"! which is rare.. and very dangerous.

so my case just keeps getting.. more complicated! im supposed to start taking meds asap since it peaks during my sleep, oh and thats why its nicknamed (the silent killer). my father on the other hand, doesnt want me to take the pills because he knows what they can do on the long run.. im in a place where im fed up and tired of getting second opinions.. i just want to be there for my kids.. i will do what ever needs to be done, for now atleast, to inshallah be around for them.. even if it meant taking these bad pills. (my dear dad) requested i wear the 24 hr monitor again just to compare end results and see how accurate they were. if they match.. he said; ill ask you my self to take the pills.

thats what im doing today inshallah .. i have no idea why i wrote all of the above.. but im sure my body and mind did it for a good reason, maybe it helps, i swear this blog has an affect on my soul that only a real blogger would understand :) for u guys out there! all the best!

mi7sin

i learned one thing for sure .. to never take anything or anyone for granted; no matter how much u love or trust them .. no matter how close u are .. "never" is a sure never in this case to take anything for granted.

i cant help but smile when ever i remember us .. how we knew exactly what we wanted .. how we made fun of each others interests and could talk about the silliest of things! it was great, fun and just nice to have that kind of friendship where you feel comfortable and safe. i always used to say and pray "i wish for my son to growup and be exactly like u" and i meant each word back then, i truly did .. thats how special u were.

and thats how hurt and disappointed im today. that i, with out even knowing it.. just lost all of that.

but thats life right? keeps slapping us in the face and asking us to grow up, toughen up, move on or stand up after a fall.. call it what ever u want to.. at the end its something heavy, painful that no one can ever be prepared for

life is also very smart, full of surprises and likes to keep things interesting by its unexpected order, the fact that the son i wished ud be like is 3.5 years old now .. and is getting help with his speech delay from the one and only.. your dear beautiful sister D. isnt life just amazing!! i couldnt have asked for a friendlier face, a kinder heart, and an awesomer friend for my son! who is just as in love with her as im :) alf al7imdellah ya rab.. im truly blessed and thankful for everything u brought my way, when ever im put in pain.. u send me such care and love.

this post was a big thank you wrapped in a sad memory (unfortunate but still dear disappointment) thats how we grow.. thats how we learn and thats how we make sure we never forget. All the luck and happiness inshallah to u.

it is

the silence inside of me is starting to get loud,
the need to move, or just shrug
my fingers ache of stillness


.

New (Home)

moving to "a new place| .. cannot be called "home| right now cause we two are total strangers at the moment, if not enemies. i feel strange and angry - frustrated.. i miss my old place, i miss my family.. im trying really hard to cope and be friendly.. but its just soo hard..

im being mean to my own place .. but may i add, that my place is also not being so nice! driving me crazy! still a million things to decide on, the to do list keeps getting longer, i feel like its gonna take me for ever to have this place done as i want it to be.

the good thing is, i know the kids love it! theyre soo excited keep running in the hallways screaming, enjoying the view and yelling (car) when ever they see one :)

my plan is to fill the walls with family photos, im choosing warmth and comfort over fancy shmancy.. i want this place to have all the elements of (coziness) but with an artsy umph as well. thats the plan.. hoping when i achieve that ill maybe start to love it and forgive it for having me leave my old place. where my dear family and memories are. its heart breaking.. but thats life and things have to change, grow and move on.. theres no stopping it.

al7imdellah 3la kil 7aal..

before this year ends .. want to wish u a better year to come inshallah.. with fresh new starts and nothing but happy and good news yarab! stay safe and healthy :*

no sleep

i cant sleep.. aboodi has an ear infection and he should sleep in a sitting position for his ear pain to be "bearable" poor little thing..
its funny when i think about this blog .. i had it before having my own kids .. and i have always loved it soo much .. its now 6 years old! that is just something isnt it! it feels like my baby, whos all grownup.. its taking care of its self .. and im not around anymore.

ok now i sound like a horrible mother! lol who leaves her 6 year old kid all alone like that?

so anyways.. im writing this for my baby blog .. i miss u .. wish times were like they used to be before .. our old bloggers, talented writers.. beautiful posts to read .. the great friends we made.. al7imdellah untill this day were in touch.. u truly did change my life :*

"blogs changed lives".. u can quote me on that! it is soo true.. thats how powerful they used to be. a shout out to any of my old readers, bloggers .. most of u deleted ur pages with nothing to be traced.. bs i can remember ur posts like ive just read them today.. thank u for all the priceless memories!

take care guys!

My Kuwait

i have been wanting to post for a very long time now , lack of both free time and inspiration were behind this long gap.

what can i say about the events happenning in my beloved country .. other than "interesting"

i open the news papers only to read how hypocritical some people "running" this country are.

scary to see how they dont have set morals or values, keeps changing according to who theyre dealing with and where they are?

very sad and scary at the same time.. i feel afraid because there is no sense of security anymore. i cannot assure my kids they will growup living in the same loving enviroment and atmosphere mommy and daddy enjoyed so very well! im 29 years old now .. i remember nothing but joy and love we had to our homes, schools and country.. and when i say country im talking about its government and prince. we are truly blessed . youd think after all the world revolutions.. and deaths and blood spill.. that the people here would look up and thank Allah for having such a peaceful country and governemnt.. no place is perfect and we do have flaws.. but we should always be thankful that the most important things are a given in this place .. sense of security and safety.. the law.. the people. we have a just system, we have jobs, we have homes.. we have a ruling family that treats us like family. alf al7imdellah.

i wish for my kids to growup under their care just like we all did .. i wish that people will open their eyes and stop being greedy. fix whats wrong.. starting with them selves. the ironic thing is how the people behinf all this "e9laa7" movement are the most corrupt! theyve been causing nothing but chaos to almost everyone.

all of this .. been blocking my brain from writing about the good and beautiful things. i never liked politics. but when its staring me in the face everydy.. as if its sitting on my chest.. stoping me from enojoying each and everyday that passes .. i had no choice but to let it out.. please leave us .. i miss the old days.. i miss my kuwait.

hope everyone is well.

the True grgai3an

grgai3an is one of the most beautiful traditions we have in islam.. sadly through out the years (specialy the last 10) its been turned into a showoff fest! people no longer do it, instead they simply dress up for it and thats all!.. instead they spend a fortune on creating the weirdest and the most none relevant giveaways as "grgai3an" which again .. has nothing to do with the tradition it self .. every year.. less and less number of kids rang our door bell for grgai3an. many families do small private grgai3an parties for some reason?! i even was invited to a "grgai3an party" this year that said "no kids allowed" on the invitation!!!! LOL WTH?!
we already have birthdays ,, noons,, and a3yad .. theyre all indoor .. the only unique thing about grgai3an is the going from door to door factor .. !? i really dont know why people are becoming so boring lol ?

this was Abdullahs and hamoods (my kids 3-1) first grgai3an in kuwait .. and since ive been trick or treating with them on Halloweens .. and since i know how much fun it is for all of us .. i decided to do grgai3an with my kids instead of an indoor party or sending them off with the nannies! (do not even get me started on handing kids to nannies!!!)

you would not imagine the amount of fun and bonding we had .. the new neighbors we got to meet .. and the encouragment we got from everyone we visited.. it was sooo nice and felt soo right and natural :) an elder woman came to me and asked .. are these your kids? i replied "yes".. she then said "bless you (allah ebarik feech mnn omm.. zaina tsaweeen wallah 3afya 3laich" her words made my day (hugs)

after our rounds.. i head back home. our door bell was ringing for more people doing grgai3an.. and guess what i saw .. a young mother with her kids doing grgai3an! was soooooooooooo cute!! and refreshing i totally loved her! mashallah 3laiha ..

so to all the families out there .. mommies and daddies .. give it a try! youur kids will enjoy it a 1000 times more if it was with u .. not to mention its the most legit excuse for u to enjoy these things again with out feeling silly about it! :p

kl 3am wnto b5air .. o 3asakom to3odon kl sina o to9omona ;)

Ramadan @ Wilshire Blvd

Salam all..

its ramadan mashallah.. the beauty of the closeness to Allah in this month cannot put in words or measure. its a blessing that we make it from one ramadan to the next, and for that im thankful, its a blessing that all my family and friends are having this ramadan with me, and for that im most thankful :) alf alf al7mdellah. last ramadan was spent in LA.. some, very few americans wished me "a happy ramadan" which ill never forget because it was very kind of them :) also.. i and hub + abood would be cooped up in the apartment all day.. no zwaraat no grgai3an no qabgaat or graishat or tibareek shahr .. just my preciuos little family. it was kind of nice.. i miss that sometimes. we would break our fast on cereal sometimes.. frozen pizza from traderjoes and ofcourse deliciuos huge california dates with yogurt .. now when i see how huge each iftar is .. it makes me wonder if this is at all right? if allah would approve of it? .. we donate few kds to people in somalia for example.. but why would we spend this much on food to beggin with.. why these huge portions and all this variety?

other than all of that .. its all lovely here! its confusing how i feel home sick at my own home somtimes.. dont know what to do about that. i keep saying home is where my family is. and its true.. as long as they are around me.. im content .. and to all of those who didnt make it to this ramadan, i pray you are in a better place.. ur gone but not forgotten.. in my heart and thoughts always .. love u all (hugs)