Wednesday, April 26, 2006

More cuteness

ahmbalah = ambulance
kuwalah = squirrel
fun = phone
ahsside = outside
doh = door
dohttee = dirty
keen = clean
kohn = corn
tull = chul (Bangla for hair)
turi = churi )Bangla for bracelet
teet = teeth

And, five hundred times a day, "Bella coming?" "Baba coming?" "Come on, Mommy! Mommy, come on!"

Her cleaning fetish is full force. She was actually angry with me this morning because I ate breakfast before I started cleaning the kitchen. She sat next to me in her chair, scrubbing the table with a dish cloth. I think I can get some use out of this...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Quick Cuteness

Before I pass out all pathetically early I wanted to quickly write out some thoughts I had today.
I was on the bus planning my blog entry o' raging negativity when I realized--I don't want to be one of those blogs where the writers constantly gripe, complain, and generally feel sorry for themselves. Even though I complain on here, I really don't feel sorry for myself. I'm not really that kind of gal, and I don't want to come across that way.
So instead of my whiny post I decided to post about Her Royal Highness.
Without further ado, cute things that Leila says/does:
1) Lotion is "Shoney" and she loves it. When she sees me get it out (or anything remotely resembling it) she totally freaks out, begging for it. If it's in a pot, she dips one dainty finger in and then gently applies it to her cheek.
2) More is "Mow" repeated upwards of twelve times, with perfectly rounded lips.
3) When Mommy goes potty, it is the funniest thing EVER. Every time. Without fail.
4) She loves to name her clothes as she gets dressed. Shirts are "jama" which is shirt in Bengali. Pants are "Pent" with the "P" and "T" enunciated perfectly. Socks are "Moka" ("moja" means socks in bengali) and shoes are "soo."
5) Mishti is "Mikti", whispered reverently.
6) Last and cutest of all, every morning we have roll call. She names everyone in her little world, and I tell her where they are or what they're doing.
"Baba?"
"Daddy's at work."
"Doddi? Dodda?" (her grandparents)
"Doddi and Dodda are still sleeping."
"NiniBella?"
"Isabella is still sleeping."
"Doh?"
"Miss Joy is still sleeping, too, with Bella."
"FooFoo?" (Her aunt)
"Foo Foo is at work."
"Khala?" (our renter)
"Khala is at work with FooFoo."

And so on, and so on, ending with, "La-La?"
And then I tickle her tummy and hug her and say, "La La is here with Mommy!"
And Mommy is soooo blessed.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Sorry sorry so sorry.

Here, I will apologize for lack of posting and commenting on other blogs (sorry, Patricia!) My apologies will be lovingly accentuated by photos of Her Royal TwoNess, of the Terrible Twos.
I'm sorry!
I'll do better!
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
"I'll be sooo saaad if you don't forgive my mommy!"
Image hosting by Photobucket
"Will a flower help?"

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Assvice and rhetorical questions.

1) Leggings are only cute if you weigh ninety pounds. Otherwise, no. Just--NO.

2) A modicum of politeness is really required when you're out in public. Talking loudly on your cell and smacking your gum while the hapless countergirl rings you up? Not polite. Kinda gross, in fact.

3) Boho is a cute trend. I've bought into it. But please, be careful. After ladies reach a certain age, boho tends to translate into "Scary Cat Lady."

4) You know, if I have to chase your kids down in my store, and tell them to stop doing whatever they're doing, because it's dangerous? You may have failed as a parent in some massive way. Also, you may have failed as a human if you can't figure out that letting your two-year-old climb on a shelf in a store is not a good idea. Or if you weren't, you know, looking at her. And especially if you didn't even notice she was gone...

5) Just because I work in retail doesn't make me less of a human, people. In fact, I make pretty good money and I am somewhat intelligent. So don't think you can stand over there and mutter crap to my poor browbeaten associate, because I will take you up sharply, and I don't care who you call. I say everything sweetly and with a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, is there a problem?" (big smile) "Oh, gee, that's just terrible," (frowny face) "unfortunately, our policy is such that I can't honor that for you, though I'd be happy to list the alternatives." (big smile) (cringe at expletives) "Well, ma'am, I'm so sorry you feel that way. Would you like the number of my district manager? I'm sure she'd be more than happy to confirm what I've told you here." (and not back down an ounce, bitch)

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

A Matter of Faith

This is an email I sent an old friend, who is now a youth pastor. He knew me at a time in my life when I was fervently Christian, and I am sure he'd be shocked at my current state. This is the main question that bangs around in my little head lately, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, too.


It occured to me today that you might be just the person to answer some of my questions.


The thing is, I am not exactly who I was when you knew me. I mean, none of us could say we're the same as high school, but I confess to having a crisis of faith. A big one.

I may or may not have mentioned to you that I married a Muslim man. I'd never seen another faith intimately before, and what I have seen has surprised me. All those years as a hardcore Christian, it had never occured to me, that, um, people of other religions are just as devoted to their religion as we are/were to ours. And I was a little bit horrified, and a little bit scared, and a little bit disillusioned.

Now my faith is such a touchy matter, and I would really like to return to church in some form because I know that I need to; I know I'm not right with God; I know I need the support of fellow Christians. But here's my problem and I'm wondering about your take on it. My mom says I'm too softhearted but I like to think I'm being logical when I ask you this:

How can God send someone who loves Him, in whatever form they believe in, to hell? Think of it this way. Think of your devotion to God, to Christ. Think of your devotion to discipleship and your love of the church. Now think if some Muslim girl came along and preached the Koran to you, urgently telling you that if you didn't believe in it you would go to hell. You wouldn't believe it, still, because you love God, and you feel his work in your life, and you know in your heart that you believe the right thing.
Now reverse it. You're a devout Muslim. You say your prayers, you do your fasts, you give to charity. Then some Christian guy comes along and starts talking about Jesus and repenting, but you don't believe it, because you love Allah and you feel his work in your life and you know in your heart that you believe the right thing.

So now I ask you--how can God be sending one of these people to hell? They both love Him and long to serve Him, they both think they're doing the right thing.

I'm not expecting you to solve my crisis of faith, I just wonder about your thoughts on this. I've gotten to a point where I would love to go back to church, I would love to sing in the choir, I would love to study my Bible, but I can't, because this is eating me up.

I appreciate your input.

God bless,
Jackie