8 years

it's my big girls birthday today. oh, how excited she was the last few days, she still is...we had a wonderful morning...

let's look back...that's 8 years ago:

not the exact day, but not too long before a child came into my/our life. did I/we know how everything's going to change? was I ready to be a Mum?

of course not!

I had no idea how it would be. sure friends, family give their opinions, one picks up one or the other "parenting" book...luckily I realised quite fast that it's not written anywhere and Mums and Dads are different, there is no wrong or right!

so, on the Morning of the 22nd of April in 2005, I went to the birth clinic, feeling that this little baby was ready to say "hello world"...

what a wonderful sunny day it was...but this little baby inside me wasn't as ready as I expected it to be yet. I was send home by my midwife, told to take it easy, do the one or the other thing to "fasten" things up and come back once contractions got stronger and shorter intervals ;-)

don't worry I am not going through it all. it wasn't easy, yes it did hurt, but hey we made it and it is a GIRL!

unfortunately we could not enjoy being together straight away, as this girl of ours was taken away just a few ours after birth, fighting a streptococcus B infection.

no, it wasn't fun, as I was at a birth house and my girl at intensive care a couple streets away at the hospital. but we managed and as this girl of mine showed her strength right away we went home together after only 5 days!

and here she is now. a girl that can be very serious at times, but just as fun. making us laugh and cry almost at the same time.

in her 8 years she already made it through a lot of travelling, schools, friends...well, all the ups and downs life has ready for us all... she amazes us in her sensitivity every day again, is not tired of trying new things and being open to, well, I'd say life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

week-end

following thehabitofbeing, sharing this special time of the week with you!

AGAIN week-end started with Thursday dinner at the ACE :-)

this time the kids stayed home so we could enjoy grown-up conversation. for the ladies it was a lot about "what to wear" as all of the group were off to a black tie event, at the girls school, Friday night!

Friday started with a good bike ride for the man and slow for me and the girls, all of us enjoying breakfast at the terrace.

with a friend over to play in the afternoon, the girls were occupied and I had a wonderful yoga practice at home, managing this pose for the first time!

a quick trip over to a friends house to try some more dresses for the evening - yes, I found something!

a little rest, the girls settled with dinner, a movie and the babysitter, we went off to school for a fun night with friends, auctions for charity and a lot of dancing!

Saturday morning went great! the girls came to our bed around 8am, but decided to get breakfast on their own and play until we got up around 10am. breakfast out in the sun again and I went off to this wonderful workshop, exactly what I needed after a late night.

I met my girls and the man at a birthday party. replacing the man, so he could get home to prepare BBQ for dinner. all of us being tired, it was an early night and a good start into the week!

how about yours?

week-end

this week-end, just the girls and I, as the man was out of town...

Thursday dinner at the ACE with friends for me and the girls. tired girls, straight to bed and I got to watch this, finally again!

Friday started with big cuddles in the little girls bed, continued by all three of us in the big bed. terrace breakfast including waffles. I started on a sewing project and the girls enjoyed some of this!

in between - some Henna tattooing!

I had BR-meeting at noon, and as this happens at a wonderful place with a pool, the girls didn't mind joining me, lunching and pooling - for the rest of the day!

exhausted of sun and swimming we watched this movie together. a bit too much for the little girl but just fine for the older one!

all three of us being tired we had a late start into Saturday. out for some shopping and coffee right after a quick breakfast.

back home my big girl was baking a yummy plum-cake, to bring to school tomorrow as it is her teachers birthday!

luckily the girls then had a friend over to play so I had peace and quiet to clean up the kitchen-mess, finish my sewing project and disappear into the yoga room! after all that, back to the kitchen to make Lasagne that was very much enjoyed for dinner. yes, sometimes even I can get it right ;-)

now, the girls are in bed and I am waiting for my man to come home any minute now...

following thehabitofbeing

week-end

it wasn't just a week-end it also was holiday-end for the girls and myself!

the big guy and I started it off Thursday night with dinner at this place.

a slow start Friday morning, enjoying family breakfast and we put up our pool! the girls had great fun splashing around (a bit too much for the big guy who tried to get the work done) and having a friend over to share the fun with :-)

early evening was drinks and nibbles at a friends place followed by family BBQ on the terrace.

Saturday, a wonderful yoga day for me...taught a morning class, early evening sun salutations and deep relaxation, rounded off with a wonderful Kirtan at this wonderful studio here in Maadi!

in between a spontaneous lunch at ours with friends, enjoying Avocados and kids laughter...

all ended with an early night, as today Sunday was back to work and school for all of us!

how was your wee-end?

following thehabitofbeing

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

inspired by "soule mama"

holidays

Easter preparations

the girls love egg dying 

terrace picnic

crafting

chocolates

snacks

new furniture fun

movie afternoon

pedicure

popcorn - what else!

mornings

6.45am - the house is silent, I finished my 20min of Pranayama and sit here in front of the computer ready to share :-)

oh, I love this mornings...

here in Cairo it's getting warm. sure soon we'll complain and it will all be a bit too much. but right now, right now I just love it. I wake up without an alarm because I hear birds singing, there is just enough daylight that comes into my bedroom already AND it's warm. I just love to get out of bed when it's nice and warm all around me. I can put loose clothes on, open the window and BREATH.

no matter how busy my day will be or not, how early I manage to rise or not, I do Pranayama every day and preferably in the morning. reason enough to share with you what I do :-)

I start with a couple of full yogic breath, some also call it 3 part breath, moving into Kapalabhati.

Kapalabhati definitely wakes my body up and energises me the most. I also believe that doing this every day is the reason why I never get a blocked nose. honestly, even if I am with a cold, it's all coming out ;-)

I move on to Anuloma Viloma. this is the first breathing exercise I learned in one of it's many variations. last summer I was introduced in doing Anuloma Viloma without using the hand, but just by imagining the breath coming in and out through different nostrils, which I find is great for people who suffer from allergies or just in general get blocked easily.

Then I usually add Nauli, which is a cleansing exercise. it took me a while to get into it, but now it just completes a perfect start into my day!

this is the 3 exercises I do daily, depending on time and how I feel, I might add more or vary a little bit. 

ever since I started teaching yoga I realised that for many people it's not easy to focus on their breath and it's not naturally for all to breath deeply.

it takes a while to learn, but mainly the people I work with one on one, experience big changes after a very short time by using only "simple" exercises throughout their every day life. and this exercises are done everywhere, not necessarily on a yoga mat!

so how about a couple of conscious inhales and exhales after you finished reading this, adding some breath focus into your life whenever and wherever you can :-)