Makkah

Due to technical difficulties (kids turning off the computer) I was not able to make my post yest.

So We decided to take the kids to mekkah yest. It was my first time back since hajj time. It was such a relief not to deal with that kind of traffic. On the way we saw tons of people and cars in this really rugged deserty area (this could be anywhere in saudi I know) but they go there to show off their skills with climping the steep hills and rocky areas with their cars. It looked like fun to watch and Cheikhna promised we will go back another time to watch (but I think he might participate :p). We got there after maghrib and prayed on arrival. Then he went to make Umrah me and the kids didn't. So we waited in the womens section. Before Isha there was a commotion in the walkway and I looked to see them carrying a corpse may allah have mercy on them. It was a good reminder that all of us will one day be the one being carried.

During Isha prayer I gave Abdellah who is 6 responsibility of Yusuf who is 2 so that he doesn't run off. During the prayer he started screaming and ran back to me crying uncontrollably. Afterwards Abdellah told me that one of the ladies who work there (the one wearing all black like thats supposed to help) had hit his bro for playing with water... I was shocked but there was nothing I could do about it cause she had fled the scene. Then we decided to go and find Cheikhna who was probably in the sa'ee. We went to find that it was completely diff due to construction and there was not place to sit down. On the way back Khadija (3) was hit in the nose by a rowdy child causing crying of course and a severe nose bleed which ended up on my scarf and face but other than that she was fine. We returned to find Cheikhna and proceeded to leave, buy dinner and ice cream and pick up our car from the garage.

The return home was uneventful except for the usual cry to go in the baqala (store). It was quite a relief to get home to a clean house and jump into bed.