Daddy's little girl
I had a request for a pic of baby Sara with daddy so here are two! :-)
posted by Tara at 11:17 AM
7 comments
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
I had a request for a pic of baby Sara with daddy so here are two! :-)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Trip to the U.S. Consulate
Today baby Sara had her appt at the U.S. Consulate for her U.S. passport, social security card and certificate of birth abroad. My Mom, Shakil, baby Sara and I all went. The security is really beefed up around the consulate which I can understand. We first went into one building where we had to send our stuff through the scanner and go through a metal detector. They entered some stuff off of Shakil's passport into the computer and told us to go the other building - that is the main building. They would not allow my Mom to go with us and we had to leave her in this tiny little waiting area. They also wouldn't allow us to take Sara in her infant carrier which really pissed me off. She was peacefully sleeping and so content. I had to unbuckle her out of it and get her out.
We proceeded to walk over to the other building. It was absolutely freezing inside. Thank goodness I had a blanket with Sara. We had to go to another waiting area and just sit. Baby Sara was doing great for about 15 minutes then she started to get cranky. She'd calm down and then start it up again. I fed her before leaving so I was hoping she'd stay content - so not the case. We were called to submit the forms, etc. and then had to wait some more. During this time Sara became even more fussy. Shakil went back to the other building where my diaper bag was with my Mom and got Sara a bottle. She cried the ENTIRE time Shakil was gone to get the bottle. People were turning around kind of glaring at me - well geez, what do you expect me to do dammit? Daddy is getting her bottle is what I was thinking. The lady behind me said, "she's hungry!" Well DUH!!!!!!!! Like I don't know what my baby needs. I spend 24 hours/7 days a week with her.
Shakil returned back with the bottle and I started to feed Sara. She was taking the bottle per normal and I burped her midway through it. I gave her some more and she was taking it as if she wanted more - then up it came. She started to puke and managed to spew some over on daddy's shirt - not too much though. After her little puke she settled down and slept the rest of the time. Shortly thereafter they called us to the window. I signed the forms in the officers presence and she said her passport would be there in 2 weeks time - much quicker than we though. Baby Sara will have dual citizenship.
Everything else is going fine. My MIL, FIL and BIL are still in Karachi so its been nice and quiet here in the house.
Will baby Sara and I be returning back to the states? That is the question right now and what Shakil and I are dealing with.
Until later...
Bye for now.
We proceeded to walk over to the other building. It was absolutely freezing inside. Thank goodness I had a blanket with Sara. We had to go to another waiting area and just sit. Baby Sara was doing great for about 15 minutes then she started to get cranky. She'd calm down and then start it up again. I fed her before leaving so I was hoping she'd stay content - so not the case. We were called to submit the forms, etc. and then had to wait some more. During this time Sara became even more fussy. Shakil went back to the other building where my diaper bag was with my Mom and got Sara a bottle. She cried the ENTIRE time Shakil was gone to get the bottle. People were turning around kind of glaring at me - well geez, what do you expect me to do dammit? Daddy is getting her bottle is what I was thinking. The lady behind me said, "she's hungry!" Well DUH!!!!!!!! Like I don't know what my baby needs. I spend 24 hours/7 days a week with her.
Shakil returned back with the bottle and I started to feed Sara. She was taking the bottle per normal and I burped her midway through it. I gave her some more and she was taking it as if she wanted more - then up it came. She started to puke and managed to spew some over on daddy's shirt - not too much though. After her little puke she settled down and slept the rest of the time. Shortly thereafter they called us to the window. I signed the forms in the officers presence and she said her passport would be there in 2 weeks time - much quicker than we though. Baby Sara will have dual citizenship.
Everything else is going fine. My MIL, FIL and BIL are still in Karachi so its been nice and quiet here in the house.
Will baby Sara and I be returning back to the states? That is the question right now and what Shakil and I are dealing with.
Until later...
Bye for now.
posted by Tara at 1:43 PM
3 comments
Sunday, February 19, 2006
One of my fav's right now...
I told myself that I wouldn't post a pic of myself but this pic is one of my fav's right now. My Mom snapped it of us the night of Shakil/I's anniversary and I just wanted to share. :-)
Baby Sara and I are doing just wonderful - I'm lacking lots of sleep at night but it is so worth it!
Until later...
Bye for now.
posted by Tara at 1:32 PM
13 comments
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
2 years today for Shakil and I!!
**Happy Anniversary my love!!!**
It's Shakil and I's 2 year Anniversary today!! Boy, what a journey it has been thus far. Shakil and I were married in Pakistan - Karachi to be exact. We met in the U.S. in April of 2003, dated and were engaged by the end of the year. I'll spare you the LONG story (here it is if you are interested - it was my first blogger post) but I flew to Karachi in February of 2004 and we were married just a few days after I arrived. It was short/sweet. I only had 2 weeks to spend with him before needing to return back to the U.S. due to my job obligations, etc.
Shakil and I spent 10 months apart before I just couldn't take it anymore and returned back to Pakistan in January of 2005 - I stayed for 5 months and went back home in June of 2005. I went back to the U.S. to visit and 1 week after arriving in the U.S. I found out that I was pregnant. I just couldn't emotionally handle being away from Shakil so he and I made the decision for me to return back once again. I went back in September and I've been here ever since.
I think Shakil and I have been through so many obstacles and over so many hurdles. We still have more hurdles to get over with waiting on his visa. We get through it all hand in hand and will continue to do so. Our love is so strong and it will get us through this. We now have our precious daughter and we'll do it together as a family.
Once again, Happy Anniversary my love and I'm so happy we are able to be together right now. I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)
Until later...
Bye for now.
It's Shakil and I's 2 year Anniversary today!! Boy, what a journey it has been thus far. Shakil and I were married in Pakistan - Karachi to be exact. We met in the U.S. in April of 2003, dated and were engaged by the end of the year. I'll spare you the LONG story (here it is if you are interested - it was my first blogger post) but I flew to Karachi in February of 2004 and we were married just a few days after I arrived. It was short/sweet. I only had 2 weeks to spend with him before needing to return back to the U.S. due to my job obligations, etc.
Shakil and I spent 10 months apart before I just couldn't take it anymore and returned back to Pakistan in January of 2005 - I stayed for 5 months and went back home in June of 2005. I went back to the U.S. to visit and 1 week after arriving in the U.S. I found out that I was pregnant. I just couldn't emotionally handle being away from Shakil so he and I made the decision for me to return back once again. I went back in September and I've been here ever since.
I think Shakil and I have been through so many obstacles and over so many hurdles. We still have more hurdles to get over with waiting on his visa. We get through it all hand in hand and will continue to do so. Our love is so strong and it will get us through this. We now have our precious daughter and we'll do it together as a family.
Once again, Happy Anniversary my love and I'm so happy we are able to be together right now. I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)
Until later...
Bye for now.
posted by Tara at 12:32 PM
4 comments
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Protesters Rampage in 2 Pakistani cities
**Shakil and I had no idea any of this was even going on until after Shakil tried to head to work and was forced to return back home. He was due to go to work at 3:30 p.m. and discovered all of this on his way. His work is in the district where all the protesting occurred. His work did call him back in about 7 p.m. I wasn't happy that they were calling him back in. He wasn't going to go just for safety reasons but couldn't even get a hold of anyone to let them know he wouldn't be going in. So, he went ahead back to work. I've heard from him twice so I know everything is ok. I'll be glad when he's back home.
Protesters Rampage in 2 Pakistani Cities By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer
Thousands of protesters rampaged through two cities Tuesday, storming into a diplomatic district and torching Western businesses and a provincial assembly in Pakistan's worst violence against the Prophet Muhammad drawings, officials said. At least two people were killed and 11 injured.
Security forces fired into the air as they struggled to contain the unrest in the eastern city of Lahore, where protesters burned down four buildings housing a hotel, two banks, a KFC restaurant and the office of a Norwegian cell phone company, Telenor.
U.S. and British embassy staffers were confined to their compounds until police dispersed the protesters, some of whom chanted, "Death to America!"
Witnesses said rioters also damaged more than 200 cars, dozens of shops and a large portrait of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Vandals broke the windows of a Holiday Inn, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Two movie theaters were torched, and clouds of tear gas and black smoke from burning vehicles drifted through streets in the city center.
A security guard shot and killed two protesters trying to force their way into a bank, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said, adding that paramilitary forces were deployed to restore order.
Mohammed Tariq, a doctor at the state-run Mayo Hospital, said three people were being treated for serious bullet wounds, and eight more suffered injuries during clashes with police.
The protest was organized by a little-known religious group supported by local trade associations and one of the main Islamic schools in the city. Intelligence officials, however, suspected that members of outlawed Islamic radical groups may have incited the violence.
Raja Mohammed Basharat, law minister for Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, said the organizers promised Monday that the demonstration would be peaceful.
No one has been arrested for the violence, but those responsible would be punished, he said.The unrest began Tuesday in the nation's capital, Islamabad, about 180 miles northwest of Lahore, when between 1,000 and 1,500 people, mostly students, marched into a fenced-off diplomatic enclave through the main gate, as about a dozen police looked on.
The stick-wielding crowd charged about a half-mile down the road to the British High Commission, or embassy, where the students rallied briefly until police fired tear gas. Outside the enclave, protesters smashed street lights and burned tires while chanting "Death to America!" and other slogans. Police rounded up about 50 protesters and put them in pickup trucks.
Another protest in Islamabad drew about 4,000 people. Separately, about 50 lawmakers from religious and moderate parties marched from Parliament to the diplomatic enclave, where they stood silently for five minutes before dispersing.
Hard-line cleric Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, senior leader of an opposition coalition of six religious parties, said, "We have come to the doors of the embassies to take our voice to the ambassadors. There is anger in the Islamic world. If they do not listen, their problems will increase."
People in this conservative Muslim nation have been enraged by the publications of the drawings, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September. Papers in other countries, mostly Europe but including some in the United States, reprinted them.
One of the caricatures depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with an ignited detonator string.
Islam widely holds that representations of Muhammad are banned for fear they could lead to idolatry.
There have been a series of mostly peaceful protests across Pakistan against the cartoons, and last week Parliament adopted resolutions condemning the drawing. Lawmakers also called for a nationwide strike on March 3.
But Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawmaker with the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, said he will propose that the government call off the March 3 protest strike because of the prospect of further violence. "It's really gotten out of hand," Ahsan said. "The violence is spiraling out of control."
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Protesters Rampage in 2 Pakistani Cities By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer
Thousands of protesters rampaged through two cities Tuesday, storming into a diplomatic district and torching Western businesses and a provincial assembly in Pakistan's worst violence against the Prophet Muhammad drawings, officials said. At least two people were killed and 11 injured.
Security forces fired into the air as they struggled to contain the unrest in the eastern city of Lahore, where protesters burned down four buildings housing a hotel, two banks, a KFC restaurant and the office of a Norwegian cell phone company, Telenor.
U.S. and British embassy staffers were confined to their compounds until police dispersed the protesters, some of whom chanted, "Death to America!"
Witnesses said rioters also damaged more than 200 cars, dozens of shops and a large portrait of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Vandals broke the windows of a Holiday Inn, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Two movie theaters were torched, and clouds of tear gas and black smoke from burning vehicles drifted through streets in the city center.
A security guard shot and killed two protesters trying to force their way into a bank, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said, adding that paramilitary forces were deployed to restore order.
Mohammed Tariq, a doctor at the state-run Mayo Hospital, said three people were being treated for serious bullet wounds, and eight more suffered injuries during clashes with police.
The protest was organized by a little-known religious group supported by local trade associations and one of the main Islamic schools in the city. Intelligence officials, however, suspected that members of outlawed Islamic radical groups may have incited the violence.
Raja Mohammed Basharat, law minister for Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, said the organizers promised Monday that the demonstration would be peaceful.
No one has been arrested for the violence, but those responsible would be punished, he said.The unrest began Tuesday in the nation's capital, Islamabad, about 180 miles northwest of Lahore, when between 1,000 and 1,500 people, mostly students, marched into a fenced-off diplomatic enclave through the main gate, as about a dozen police looked on.
The stick-wielding crowd charged about a half-mile down the road to the British High Commission, or embassy, where the students rallied briefly until police fired tear gas. Outside the enclave, protesters smashed street lights and burned tires while chanting "Death to America!" and other slogans. Police rounded up about 50 protesters and put them in pickup trucks.
Another protest in Islamabad drew about 4,000 people. Separately, about 50 lawmakers from religious and moderate parties marched from Parliament to the diplomatic enclave, where they stood silently for five minutes before dispersing.
Hard-line cleric Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, senior leader of an opposition coalition of six religious parties, said, "We have come to the doors of the embassies to take our voice to the ambassadors. There is anger in the Islamic world. If they do not listen, their problems will increase."
People in this conservative Muslim nation have been enraged by the publications of the drawings, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September. Papers in other countries, mostly Europe but including some in the United States, reprinted them.
One of the caricatures depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with an ignited detonator string.
Islam widely holds that representations of Muhammad are banned for fear they could lead to idolatry.
There have been a series of mostly peaceful protests across Pakistan against the cartoons, and last week Parliament adopted resolutions condemning the drawing. Lawmakers also called for a nationwide strike on March 3.
But Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawmaker with the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, said he will propose that the government call off the March 3 protest strike because of the prospect of further violence. "It's really gotten out of hand," Ahsan said. "The violence is spiraling out of control."
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
posted by Tara at 12:25 PM
3 comments
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Updating...
Here's another pic taken just the other day. She was feelin' nice and comfy after a sponge bath.
Ahhhh, finally have a minute to blog. :-) Things are going really good here with baby Sara. Shakil and I are just so in love with her and she is just the most precious gift from God. I feel so blessed to have her. I can just stare into those beautiful eyes of hers for hours. When I look at her I just can't believe she's ours.
She's been breastfeeding like a pro since day 2. She turned 1 week old on Thursday. I think I'm pretty protective with her in terms of hygiene. I really don't like for anyone to hold her unless they have washed or use some hand sanitizer. Maybe its just because she is newborn but I really have a problem if someone doesn't clean their hands prior to touching her. I especially am bothered if they go to touch her little hands and their hands aren't clean. Sara loves to put her hands in her mouth. I was using hand covers but her hands are so little right now that none of them fit right now.
My Mom has been helping me sooooooo much!! I don't know what I would have done without her. It has enabled me to recover from the c-section which is still very tender but getting better.
Shakil pops up at night - no problem every night to help out. He's being a very good daddy!
My MIL, FIL and BIL have goneo to Karachi for a visit so its just me, Sara, Shakil and my Mom here at the house for now. The sweets have slowed up on coming to the house. We had so much sweets coming in and that makes it pretty darn hard to lose any weight gained! It has been oh so tasty though!!
I go back to the doctor on Monday to get the steri-strips taken off my incision. Hopefully, the doc will be done with me.
Other than that, I'm just trying to get sleep anytime, anywhere - I'm beat but its sooooooo worth it!!
Until later...
Bye for now.
posted by Tara at 1:06 PM
6 comments
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Sara Elizabeth has arrived!!!!
My baby girl is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me give you the story. On Wednesday the 1st I went in for my 38 week appt and had been feeling bad for the 2 days prior and was even feeling bad while I was in the waiting room. I just didn't feel "right". I had been sleeping quite a bit and was having constant headaches. Well, the night before I decided I better check my BP because of the headaches - just what I figured my BP had shot up to 146/100 and that was at midnight and I had been resting. Per usual the nurse at the doctor's office checked my BP at the visit and it was about 140/90 which isn't too bad - but still high. The doc came in and he was not happy with that BP and made the nurse check again after he did an internal exam on me - which by the way Sara had not dropped yet and my cervix was still closed up nice and tight. Next BP reading was 160 something over 100. Doctor immediately set up for me to be admitted in the hospital for observation. He told me that we needed to get the baby out soon. He wanted me the BP to be monitored and if it stayed up high he was going to deliver same day on the 1st and if it lowered some he would deliver her on the 2nd. He also did the fetal heart monitoring on her and she did show some distress.
After leaving the doctor Shakil and I were of course very excited about Sara coming sooner but tense at the same time. We headed home and I called my Mom to tell her the news. She was due to leave to come here in a few hours. I was hoping Sara would hold out and she did but the BP just took over things. I had a feeling that my BP would go back up in the end of pregnancy. I already had Sara's bag packed but my bag was not packed at all.
To make a very long story short Sara came by C - section on the 2nd of February. Shakil was with me in the OR and that was very comforting. I was so very scared. I wasn't able to get the epidural because of a big curve in my spine that I didn't even know existed. They did general anesthesia on me so I was completely knocked out. Sara was born Feb. 2nd at 12:15 p.m., weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces, 16 1/2 inches long. I have to admit she is absolutely beautiful and she has captured both of our hearts.
I got to leave the hospital on Sunday the 5th. Tonight is Sara's first night home. My Mom did arrive here safely but was several hours late for the birth. I'm just glad she is here - its been wonderful. :-)
Shakil is quite the proud father. I can already tell Sara has got him wrapped around her finger. The way he looks at her is just priceless and makes me feel all warm inside.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts/prayers. Big thank you to Ayalguita for what you sent baby Sara. The toy will come in handy big time and the little outfit is just toooo cute!! Thank you, thank you!!
Until later...
Bye for now.
posted by Tara at 1:31 PM
18 comments
